


The Horsewomen of Pokemon: The Horsewomen

by AttackPlatypus, RelentlassHuggerSquad



Series: The Horsewomen of Pokemon [4]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Professional Wrestling, WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Beckley - Freeform, Becky is awkward and Bayley is doctor Phil, Coming of Age, Crossover, Epic Friendship, Gen, Pokemon Fanfiction, Pokemon Journey, Team Up, becky x bayley brotp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2019-11-05 23:28:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 26,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17928404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AttackPlatypus/pseuds/AttackPlatypus, https://archiveofourown.org/users/RelentlassHuggerSquad/pseuds/RelentlassHuggerSquad
Summary: These special chapters will feature multiple members of the Horsewomen as they continue their Pokemon journey.





	1. Chapter 1

**Note: This story takes place between Chapters 3 and 5 of the Bayley and Becky stories**

 

**Bayley**

 

Bayley Martinez’s breath was coming ragged and shallow. She could practically feel the lactic acid building up in her legs and the sweat was stinging at her eyes. 

 

But she kept on running.

 

Bayley was a usually even-keeled person, especially for her age. But like everyone else in the world she’d been scared before. But she’d never felt fear like this. Fear that seemed to squeeze her insides with an ice cold vice grip. Bayley’s best friend in the world, Becky Lynch, was in trouble somewhere, and she was alone.

 

Because it was how the human brain worked in these situations, Bayley’s mind was full of all sorts of horrific worst-case scenarios. What if Becky had fallen and broken her leg? What if she’d been knocked out? Attacked by wild Pokemon or something...even worse. Unbidden her father’s voice came back to her suddenly.

 

“ _ The difference between being someone who helps in a crisis and someone who makes things worse is the ability to stay calm and think. Remember that mija.” _

 

Somehow the simple memory of this was enough to help Bayley feel a little calmer. She was still more scared than she had ever been, but she felt slightly more in control. Abler to focus on what she was going to do and less on what could be happening. This new clarity was also enough to make her pick up her pace.

 

She’d paused a while back to retie her shoes and during that interval, she’d released Pidgey from her Pokeball. After explaining the situation to the bird Pokemon she’d let Pidgey speak with Pikachu before sending her on ahead. She wasn’t sure what Pidgey would be able to do on her own but she didn’t like the idea of Becky by herself while in trouble. And she had the sneaking suspicion that her friend wouldn’t have caught any other Pokemon yet.

 

Becky Lynch was maybe the smartest person Bayley had ever met. And if she wasn’t it would only be because Bayley had met her parents. Becky was nothing short of a wizard when it came to anything mechanical or electronic. Bayley had privately admitted to herself on several occasions that we a little jealous of how good Becky had been in their STEM classes. But for as much as she was a prodigy in some areas, in others Becky was far behind her peers. This was most notable when it came to dealing with people.

 

Becky Lynch could never be described as mean or even rude, at least not intentionally on the second count. But Bayley had once overheard Charlotte make a snide comment to the other girls at school who had followed her around like baby chicks after a hen: “Lynch only has two gears ‘extra’ and ‘sooooooo extra’. Though Bayley had scowled at the remark then she couldn’t really criticize its accuracy. Becky was probably more open and friendly with complete strangers than Bayley was herself, she just went about it an odd way. 

 

Becky was a human dynamo. She was never sitting still, and that went double for her brain. Bayley sometimes thought part of Becky’s hyperactive nature was simply that there were so many ideas fighting to be expressed and worked on in her brain that if she sat still too long she might burst. Of course, this amount of energy could ware very thing very fast on most people. 

 

But maybe that was why she and Bayley were such good friends. Bayley found Becky’s way of viewing the world fascinating and was always eager to hear Becky’s ideas and (often) to have them explained to her. For her part, Becky seemed to appreciate that Bayley was happy to be the ‘listener’ in their friendship. Also, Bayley to admit, she tended to be Becky’s very own social ‘Jiminy Cricket’. 

 

But all of these reflections would be for naught if Bayley let something happen to her friend.

 

“Are...we...getting....close...Pikachu?” she gasped with burning lungs to the Pokemon she was still carrying. She’d long since given up holding him to her chest however and instead had him over her shoulder like a sack.

 

“ _ Chuuuuu _ ,” came the exhausted and barely audible reply. But Bayley felt the Pokemon trying to nod so she continued onward, her sneakers pounding along the trail. She knew she was being reckless and could very likely end up with a twisted ankle if she didn’t slow down. But she didn’t care.

 

“Which way?” Bayley demanded as she came to a skidding halt in a small clearing. A moment later she felt a small hand pushing on the side of her head, a sign that she needed to go left. So she did, plowing through the underbrush and sending birds and Pokemon scattering in front of her. Ordinarily, she would have apologized to them but right not she was too focused on her task. 

 

She came to a halt and put her hands on her knees, unable to keep running any further. As she tried desperately to suck air into her body she felt Pikachu scramble up her shoulder and stand upright on her back. “ _ Chu! Pika Pi! Chuuuuu!”  _ the little yellow Pokemon said with surprising strength given how tired he still was.

 

“I...just...need...a...minute…to- ahhhhhhh,” Bayley yelped as she felt powerful shock that sent her leaping a few feet forward. Spinning around she saw Pikachu struggling to stand upright but doing his best to look defiant as sparks dropped from his cheeks. “Hey! What was-” Bayley began to protest but then she saw that Pikachu was gesturing forcibly behind her. Turning around Bayley saw that on the other side a of a small creek there seemed to be another clearing. 

 

Before she could say anything else she heard a high cry of “ _ Pidgey!”  _

 

Bayley’s eyes widened as she scooped up Pikachu like a football and slid down the bank on one side of the creek and then hopped back up the other. Bursting into the clear she looked around then saw her Pidgey hopping from foot to foot anxiously next to a pair of old boots sticking out from the tall grass. Boot’s that Bayley recognized.

 

“Becky!” she shouted as she hurried over.

  
  


**Becky**

 

Becky was pretty sure she was hallucinating or had been for a while now. She felt cold, despite the jacket that Pikachu had placed over her, before setting off for help. An icy feeling of dread had settled in her stomach, she was starting to doubt that Pikachu was coming back.    
  
Perhaps Pikachu hadn’t forgiven her for the prior insults, maybe he was watching from the distance waiting for her to pass out. Becky didn’t think her pokemon would be that cruel but perhaps she had pushed him too far. Maybe saving him from the Weedle had not made up for her slight against him.    
  
Time seemed to be passing weirdly, Becky’s eyes felt heavy. Every time her eyes would fall shut, panic would course through her and she’d force herself to open them. Surely, she wasn’t going to die but whatever she was experiencing, she didn’t like it.    
  
When the Pidgey landed near her, Becky was concerned that perhaps she had been wrong about the dying thing. She tried to shoo it away with her foot, but her leg wasn’t cooperating. She grunted and lifted her head to stare down at the creature.    
  
“Aye, you don’t want to eat me. I’m scrawny and I’m sure I’d taste horrible.” She called, trying to persuade the pokemon to leave her alone. She was sure Charlotte would get a kick out of her predicament. No doubt the blonde would be laughing at her and taking pictures of the injured mechanic to humiliate her with later.    
  
Becky attempted and failed to sit up, her ribs were still smarting from the kick she took in defense of Pikachu. “Buddy! I know you hate me, but now would be a good time to come back. I would like to avoid being pecked to death by a Pidgey.” She was hoping Pikachu could hear her, she thought that she had even heard him calling out in the distance.    
  
Finally resigning herself to the fact that Pikachu most likely wasn’t coming back and she was going to be Pidgey food Becky laid her head back down in the grass.    
  
“I suppose there are worse ways to go.” Becky mused, stealing a glance at the bird. She looked skyward, giving a painful sigh. She hoped at the very least that Pikachu would end up happy somewhere. Closing her eyes, Becky felt herself drifting off to a weird, chaotic dream.    
  
In her dream, she was back in Pallet Town but she was wearing Charlotte’s clothes, and Charlotte, in turn, was wearing her goggles. Becky was chasing her around town trying to steal them back when she spotted Pikachu in the dream. Becky advanced towards her dream-Pikachu, only to be met with Pikachu shocking her.    
  
Becky jolted awake, as her actual Pikachu was now next to her looking concerned. “What?” Becky was very confused by the sudden appearance of her companion, and even more, startled by the familiar face that greeted her. “Bayley? God, I must be hallucinating now.” Becky rationalized, unsure of why her friend would be there. Becky assumed it was probably another weird inception dream inside of a dream. She swiped her hand at Pikachu not expecting him to actually be there.    
  
Pikachu did not take to kindly to this and lightly shocked her. “Pikachu! Chu, Chu!” Pikachu looked to Bayley, seemingly trying to plead with her to fix Becky. 

  
  


**Bayley/Becky**

 

“Hey there Becksplosion,” Bayley said gently as she knelt beside her friend. She’d seen a nasty looking gash on the inside of Becky’s thigh and several bruises as she’d arrived but there seemed to be something else wrong with her. Becky was sweating profusely and her eyes looked glassy. Turning her head slightly to one side she spoke out of the side of her mouth and said: “Pikachu?”   
  
Becky’s eyes narrowed for a second before she managed to actually focus on Bayley. “It is you!” She reached up a shaky hand, lightly patting Bayley’s cheek with her sweaty hand. “I’m glad to see you Bay. Has anybody ever told you, you got an angel face?”    
  
Pikachu met Bayley’s gaze, trying to think of how to convey the fact that Becky had been stung by the weedle and poisoned. He gestured to where the Weedle had stung Becky, Becky’s shoulder had a raised lump that looked irritated. “Chu.”    
  


Addressing the Pokemon first, Bayley muttered: “In the future, we try hard not to actually electrocute injured and/or sick people.”   
  
Giving an irritated little huff, Pikachu rolled his eyes. “Pika, pika pi.” He gave Bayley a pointed look as if to ask if she wouldn’t do the same thing to the overly dramatic Becky.    
  
Becky snorted a little bit before attempting to laugh, though the pain in her ribs stopped her. “Pikachu hates me, he’s constantly shocking me or did you forget what you witnessed during our first meeting?” Becky groaned and closed her eyes, feeling slightly dizzy. “I tried to save him from a Weedle, he left me.”

  
“Pika!” The pokemon protested, glaring at Becky. It was clearly offended at the accusation.

 

“Becks...he came all the way to Viridian to find me, nearly killed himself to do it too. That’s not something you do for someone that you hate,” Bayley said kindly. She was serious but also talking simply to keep Becky focused and alert as she looked her over. Bayley wasn’t a doctor or even a medic by any means but she’d spent enough time outside by herself that her dad had thought it worthwhile to teach her a fair amount of first aid.  

 

Becky was taken back by hearing what Pikachu had done for her. She didn’t think that her pokemon actually cared that much. She felt oddly touched that Pikachu had actually gone that far to save her. “Fine, perhaps he doesn’t hate me. But…” Becky wasn’t sure how to define her partnership with Pikachu, it was complex and complicated at best. 

 

She cut off as she winced painfully. Baley had just pressed an experimental palm against her ribs, having noticed that Becky seemed to be laying unnaturally still. “So that hurt huh?” she asked as shrugged off her backpack. She opened and it and took out her first aid kit before releasing Bulbasaur from his Pokeball.

 

“ _ Bulba!”  _ he said as he looked around the clearing, taking the scene in.

 

“Bulbasaur I need a favor from you OK? My friend is hurt and I’m going to do what I can for her here but then we’re going to need to get her back to Viridian Hospital. Do you think that if I could make some kind of sledge you could help me drag it? Bayley knew that she wouldn’t be able to carry Becky all the way back to the city and that meant Bulbasaur wouldn’t be able to either. But she thought that together they just might be able to.

 

“ _ Bulbasaur! Bulba!”  _ her Pokemon barked, eager as ever for a challenge.

 

“Thanks, buddy, you’re the best,” Bayley told him before patting his head. She then turned to Pidgey and asked: “Are you up for some more flying?”

 

“ _ Pidge,”  _ the bird said with a jerky nod.

 

“Then fly back to Viridian and find the hospital and do whatever you have to do to get some help on the way, we’ll try to meet them on the road,” Bayley instructed.

 

“ _ Pidgey!”  _ the bird said with another nod.

 

“Thank you Pidgey, you’ve been a huge help today,” Bayley told the bird before addressing both her Pokemon and saying: “Remind me when this all over that I owe you both some home cooking!” With that Pidgey set off and Bulbasaur moved to stand protectively beside her. Turning back to Becky now Bayley asked: “Becks, where’s your pack?”

 

Becky raised a shaky hand and pointed off towards the other end of the clearing. “It’s in my camp. Pikachu knows where it is.”    
  
Pikachu was extremely tired but still set off across the clearing and with some effort managed to drag Becky backpack back towards Bayley. Pikachu then promptly laid down, needing an actual rest.    
  
“There are some berries in my pack, you can give it to Pikachu. Maybe you can convince him to get in the Pokeball, he won’t for me.” Becky explained, feeling bad about her pokemon being so worn down. 

 

Bayley nodded and dug through the pack, pulling out an item or two she’d hoped Becky might have and would need later. When she found the sack containing the berries she pulled it out and opened it. She frowned as she looked down in the sack and used a finger to move some of the fruit aside. Despite the seriousness of the the situation she looked incredulously over at Becky and asked: “Have you been eating all of these?”

 

“Um… yeah. Pikachu has been on a hunger strike, but I finally got him to eat. So we’ve been eating some berries.” Becky said, confused as to why that was an issue. “What’s wrong with my berries, I picked them myself.”

 

Bayley felt like sighing but held herself in check as she began to pull different berries from the sack. “Well, these will taste so sour that they’ll make you feel like you’re going to suck your whole face in,” she said as she tossed a green berry aside.

 

Becky gave a weak nod. “I don’t think I am going to want to eat anything for a while. My ribs hurt.” Becky muttered quietly. She still couldn’t quite process the fact that Pikachu had managed to find Bayley and bring her. “I can’t believe you found me Bay. I missed you a lot, this adventuring is a lot more difficult than I imagined.”  She looked regretfully at Pikachu, knowing that as a trainer she was failing him horribly. 

 

Bayley was only half listening as she picked through the berry sack and then everything else was driven from her mind when she pulled out a dark purple berry. “Tell you didn’t eat any of these, please? Becky! These are poisonous!” Then her mind caught up with her and her face softened as she said: “Well you have Pikachu to thank for that. Though...you might be mad at us both in a second…” she said ominously. 

 

“No I didn’t eat any of those, I felt bad eating when Pikachu wouldn’t. Besides, what do you mean, I might be mad at both of you?” Becky asked, sounding a bit apprehensive. She had never really been mad at Bayley before, the other girl was really her only friend. “Why would I be mad at you?” She tried to look at Pikachu but the pokemon was snoring in a heap about a foot away from her. 

 

Bayley didn’t answer but instead gave a sharp jerk on Becky’s right forefinger. She’d noticed it was at an odd angle, a clear sign of dislocation. The fact that Becky hadn’t seemed to notice it seemed to confirm Bayley’s earlier theory that something else was going on with her. That being said, there was no way for Bayley to make this particular technique NOT hurt like hell.

 

“Sorry,” she apologized as she pulled.

 

The scream of pain that tore from Becky’s throat was enough to cause Pikachu to jolt back away, his fur puffing out in all directions much like a cat. Becky cursed under her breath, tears stinging her eyes as she jerked her hand away from Bayley. She stared up at her like a kicked puppy.   
  
“What the heck Bayley.” Becky whimpered, cradling her hand to her chest.    
  
Pikachu wandered over and gave Bayley a quizzical look. “Pikachu?” He was clearly trying to access if Bayley intended to harm Becky anymore.

 

“Trust me, it would have been worse if I’d warned you…” Bayley said sympathetically as she looked down at Becky’s wound. She pondered if for a few moments before she asked: “What did that?”

 

Becky gave an unhappy grunt. “I heard Pikachu getting attacked. He was getting double teamed by a Weedle and a Bellsprout. I tried to save him when these two girls showed up…” Becky trailed off for a moment before she explained their uniforms and how she had attempted to fight them and got beat up.    
  
Pikachu seemed to interject ever so often, but mainly let Becky explain how the other two trainers were going to let Weedle try and poison Pikachu.  “I got in the way, I couldn’t let Pikachu get hurt. Not if I could save him. They got me good though.”

 

Bayley’s face softened at this, the gesture was so characteristically Becky. A mixture of thoughtlessness and bravery all in one. Becky probably should have known that getting in front of a Weedle sting would mean a bad case of poisoning but Bayley suspected she would have done the same thing even if she had. Digging into her pack Bayley took out her own berry stash and dug for a moment.

 

Drawing out a few peach colored berries with two small leaves she also took out a small cloth and rolled them inside it. She then pounded them in one hand with the other fist before bringing the cloth to Becky’s mouth. “Eat these Pecha berries, they cure poison in Pokemon. It won’t be as effective with you but it should help while we get you to Viridian.

Becky carefully ate the berry pulp, before laying back down. “Thanks for coming to save me, Bayley. You always come through.” Becky said, squeezing her best friend’s hand. The Mechanic figured once she was better she’d try to do something nice for Bayley to pay her back.

 

Bayley smiled down at her friend and said: “What are friends for Becks?” Digging in her kit she pulled out some antiseptic spray and some sterile pads. “This is going to sting, a lot,” she told Becky before she began to clean the wound. She couldn’t do anything more permanent about the poison on her own so she was just going to bandage the wound for now.   
  
Hissing in pain, Becky gritted her teeth. It hurt, but not as much as it had when Bayley had popped her finger back into place. “They never told me being a pokemon trainer was this dangerous.” She attempted to joke, but it felt forced even by Becky’s standards. “I am so tired Bay, how far to the city?”

 

Bayley had to laugh at this comment, “I probably did Beckys, but you were probably working on one of your inventions.” And you would be tired, you’ve got a bunch of poison coursing through your veins,” she said as she looked over her shoulder and considered Becky’s last question. Bayley had covered the distance in less than twenty minutes though she’d also been running most of the way. That wouldn’t be an option with an injured and poisoned Becky. Without answering her friend Bayley turned to Bulbasaur and asked: “Could you go find me a long piece of healthy treebark, as close to Becky’s size as you can.” 

 

“ _ Bulba!”  _ her friend answered as he ambled off into the trees.

 

“I’m guessing you didn’t bring rope with you?” Bayley asked Becky as she continued to clean the edges of the wound.

 

Becky was struck by the way Bayley and Bulbasaur worked together. There was a part of her that wondered if she and Pikachu might be to coexist like that someday. “I always understood machines and inventions better than people, and I guess better than pokemon too. I may not know much about berries, but I do have some rope.” Becky had packed some to help her with future inventions as a sort of pulley system. 

 

“Pikachu, help me out will you?” Bayley asked as she worked.

 

The yellow pokemon obliged digging through Becky’s backpack and snagging the rope. He carried it over to Bayley, looking to her for further instructions.    
  
“I am surprised he listens to you, he never listens to me.” Becky’s tone betrayed her jealousy. She was a bit envious of the fact that Pikachu was so willing to do whatever Bayley asked. “He’s smart though, what can I do to help?”

 

“Lay down and stop moving, keep your heart rate as low as possible. Every beat moves the poison further through you,” Bayley instructed. It was at that moment that Bulbasaur returned dragging a large chunk of tree bark. Bayley studied as he approached, it looked like it might do. “Where are your tools Becks?” Bayley asked, knowing her friend would have some.

 

Becky laid down and tried to remain still, which was actually quite hard for the energetic girl. “Side pocket.” She said quietly, realizing that she might be worse off than she had originally thought. 

 

Bayley opened the indicated pocket and pulled the rolled up tool belt out. Selected a large Philips-head screwdriver and then a hammer she placed the point against the bark and started hammering the handle. She continued this until she’d made two large holes along the top. When she’d done she replaced the tools carelessly.

 

“Hey! That’s not how you use those tools.” Becky protested, utterly dismayed at the treatment of her equipment. “Bayley be careful with those, please. You aren’t supposed to hit the screwdriver with a hammer.” 

 

“I’ll make it up to you when we get there,” Bayley muttered as she threaded the rope through both holes and then tied one end into a harness and the other into a loop. When she got no response she looked back and found that Becky’s eyes were closed and she her breath seemed to be coming very shallow. Turning to Bulbasaur she said urgently: “We need to hurry!”

 

“ _ Bulba!” _

 

The one thing that struck Bayley above all else was how heavy Becky seemed to be. Bayley taller than her friend but Becky was more muscular, but Bayley still wouldn’t have guessed that dragging her along would be so hard. It was probably because Becky was nothing but dead weight at the moment.

 

“How ya doing pal?” Bayley asked Bulbasaur as they began to trudge along the road. This was actually much easier than trying to drag Becky through the forest had been. But ‘easy’ was a relative term in this case. Bayley wasn’t at all certain that she’d be able to make it all the way to Viridian at this rate, she’d just have to hope that Pidgey had found someone who could help. 

 

_ “Bulb...a...saur…”  _ came the labored reply from beside her. Bayley was reminded then of Bulbasaurs stubborn spirit. He would never be the first to quit at something, no matter how exhausted he got. This knowledge helped strengthen Bayley’s own resolve, as long as her pulled than she would. And if they both did that, then they would make it. 

 

It was one thing to think this, however, and another to do it. 

 

Less than ten minutes later, Bayleys’ arms and legs felt like they each weighed a hundred pounds. She was covered in sweat thanks not just to the effort but also the fact that it was still the middle of the afternoon and the Kanto sun was unforgiving. She’ tried pulling with the rope over one shoulder, turning around and walking backward, and several other positions but nothing really helped. Bulbasaur was struggling to. He was in his rope harness but he’d also wrapped his vines around the sled for more purchase. 

 

“It...can’t...be...much...further…” Bayley grunted to Bulbasaur, though she was talking as much to herself as him.

 

“ _ Bulbaaaaaa,”  _

 

As if to taunt her a road sign loomed up beside them. Looking at it Bayley read ‘Viridian City 2.1 miles’. Bayley’s heart sank as she read this. Over TWO miles?! Bayley almost gave into despair then. It was so tempting to just sink down to her knees and start crying, hoping someone would come along to help. But she didn’t, for two reasons.

 

The first was that she was Bayley Martinez, Eddie Guerrero’s daughter. She hadn’t been raised to be someone who quit when things got hard. More importantly, she had a friend in need and there was no one else around to help Becky. So she squeezed her eyes shut, grit her teeth and then took a step. It felt like it took a lot of effort to do this but as soon as she felt her shoe hit the road she took another and then another. She would go the whole rest of the way like this if she had to, she was determined.

 

But then something else happened. The second reason she never gave into despair was because the choice was removed from her. 

 

As she was on step number ten, or maybe one thousand she wasn’t sure. Her entire world suddenly seemed to shimmer in front of her. Bayley blinked, wondering if her tired body was playing tricks on her vision. But she’d done this several times, even whacked the side of her own head, she was forced to concede that the world did indeed seem to have become...wavy. 

 

It was bizarre, as though she were seeing her surroundings through a waterfall. What was more, the sounds of the world had become muted and distant. Like they were being played from a recording in the next room. Bayley was forced to consider the possibility that she was somehow going mad, right here and now. But then she heard a familiar voice.

 

“ _ Bulba?”  _ came the amazing question from below her. Looking quickly down Bayley saw that Bulbasaur was still standing beside her, looking around him with as much amazement as Bayley was. Another quick check revealed that Becky was still behind them. As she’d laid there her right hand had closed reflexively around the Pokeball that Bayley had placed in it. She’d managed to coax Pikachu into the ball for their journey. 

 

“So you’re seeing this too, right?” Bayley asked her Pokemon in a small voice. Before Bulbasaur could answer something else happened. The world slowly turned from hazy to grey and then began to fade entirely. Bayley gasped as they suddenly found themselves surrounded by nothing but pure, brilliant, white light.

 

“What the- OUCH,” Bayley said as she suddenly felt herself fall hard onto her butt.

 

“ _ Bulba!”  _ came an indignant growl from beside her that indicated Bulbasaur had suffered the same fate. A loud thud made Bayley turn to Becky’s sled hit the ground behind them. Eyes wide she hurried back to her friend to check if she’d been hurt, but she seemed the same. If anything she seemed to be holding onto Pikachu’s Pokeball even tighter.

 

“What just...how?” Bayley asked in dazed befuddlement. She was turning in a circle and looking around her to find herself staring at some buildings only about twenty or thirty yards up the road. She could only see part of them however as they were on the other side of some thick trees. A few seconds later she saw a sign when the road turned that read: ‘Welcome to Viridian City’. 

 

“ _ Bulbasaur?”  _ came the completely lost sounding croak.

 

“I have...no idea buddy…” Bayley said, still waiting desperately for her brain to supply her with some kind of an answer to her questions. None came. Then she heard a groan from behind her and she turned to see that Becky seemed to grow paler as even as she watched. Decided that she’d need to puzzle on this mystery later Bayley picked up her rope and said: “Come on Bulbasaur, whatever just happened we still need to get these two some help!”

 

“ _ Bulba…”  _ Bulbasaur said, starting to pull clearly not as willing as Bayley to just brush past the extraordinary thing that had just happened. Bayley was too focused on dragging her friend the rest of the way into town to have much attention for anything else. She only stopped when some adults ran up to her and asked what had happened. She explained the situation, though she left out just how they’d arrived since she didn’t know herself, and then gratefully allowed accepted some water as an ambulance was called. 

 

All she wanted to do now was take a nap.

  
  


**-Becky-**

 

It took Becky a couple hours to come too, after she passed out. She had been having another dream, this time it wasn’t as chaotic. Becky was dreaming of the different inventions she would come up with and how all the money she’d make, she’d donate to research and helping other trainers accomplish their dreams.    
  
When Becky finally woke up, she was startled to find herself hooked up to an IV drip and in a hospital bed. She bolted upright, but the movement made her dizzy. She vaguely recalled Bayley rescuing her, but Becky didn’t see her ponytail sporting friend anywhere in the room. A feeling of fear coursed through her, adrenaline rushing through her veins, giving her the energy to try and stand up.    
  
“Bayley? Pikachu, where are you?” Becky called out, readying to pull her IV out, when a man wear blue scrubs and a white lab coat appeared at the door.    
  
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, it is going to hurt. It was hard enough to find a vein the first time with how dehydrated you were.” The doctor warned her, clearly advising against Becky trying to pull the IV drip out. “My name is Dr. AJ Styles, and I would appreciate you not undoing the hard work I put into fixing you up.”   
  
Becky stared long and hard at Dr. Styles, before she sank back down onto the bed, her energy draining from her almost as abruptly as it had appeared. “Where’s my Pikachu?”    
  
“Your Pikachu was weakened, so it’s resting and recovering in a different room. Your friend took your backpack and other items but said she’d would come back by.” AJ explained, before helping Becky back into the bed properly and covering her up. “You need your rest, you were fairly beaten up.”    
  
Becky frowned and nodded. “I got poisoned by a evil Weedle and beaten up by its trainers.”    
  
The man tilted his head to the side. “Pokemon aren’t bad, some just have bad trainers, who force them to do despicable things. As for your injuries, we’ve wrapped her ribs, braced your finger, and stitched up and bandaged the various gashes and scratches. The IV is filled with an antibiotics to help combat the poison, as well as some fluids to help you rehydrate.”   
  
“My friend mentioned that I was  probably eating the wrong kind of berries.” Becky muttered, knowing that she hadn’t been eating like she should have. She knew that certainly didn’t help matters either, but she was thankful that she was in good hands now.    
  
“Well it is a good thing your friend got you here when she did. You’re going to probably need a day or two to fully recover your strength. The best thing for you is to rest.” AJ started to turn to walk out when Becky called out to him.    
  
“Do you… is it possible to maybe move Pikachu into the room with me? I really don’t like being alone.” Becky said, unable to meet the Doctor’s eyes. She knew it sounded wimpy, but it was true. Becky absolutely hated being being by herself, at least in her lab she had her parents around or Bayley to stop by.    
  
AJ’s face softened and he nodded. “Of course, I’ll have Pikachu’s little bed moved in here. He’s in an incubator of sorts, connected to an IV-drip of his own. Pika is recharging and resting. I am sure he’ll be happy to see you, just get him checked out at the Pokecenter when you’re done here. You’re doing phenomenal by the way.”    
  
Becky nodded slowly, glad that she wouldn’t be by herself. She knew she would owe Bayley a huge favor, for helping her and Pikachu. She figured she’d buy Bayley and her pokemon each an ice cream and make them friendship bracelets of their own. Finally sleep came for Becky, and she passed back out as Pikachu was finally rolled into the room with her. 

  
  


**Bayley**

 

It was hard for Bayley to believe that her meeting with TJ and that group of girls had taken place earlier this same day. Given what had happened between now and then, it seemed like a very long time ago. After she’d seen Becky into the ambulance Bayley and grabbed her friend’s bag though she’d insisted that Becky keep Pikachu with her. She’d waved sadly as the ambulance had driven away, though she knew Becky couldn’t see it.

 

Then she’d been left alone with Bulbasaur.

 

Without any other clear idea of where she should go she’d asked a passerby for directions to the Viridian Pokecenter and had been pleased to find out it was only a few blocks away. Bayley just wanted to lay down for awhile and then, if possible, take a shower. She knew she must look like a proper mess, she felt like one. Her skin was covered in dried sweat, dirt, and other debris.

 

She decided she wouldn’t think about it until they reached the Pokemon Center. Most of these had a few bunk rooms and, occasionally, even individual rooms for travelling trainers. The would usually include showers, but she didn’t want to raise her hopes only to have them dashed by words like ‘most’ and ‘usually’. 

 

But if she wasn’t thinking about her current state she was only left with one major topic of thought. How she’d actually arrived at Viridian City. She had no good explanation for what had happened, it seemed impossible. How could she suddenly have ended up miles away from where she’d started in less than minute? She knew of Pokemon that could teleport but this was usually only over short distances, and she’d never heard of one that send other people or Pokemon on a trip.

 

Young though she was, Bayley had no intention of telling anyone about this, at least no one she didn’t know well. She could hear in her own head how crazy it sounded. She’d even been tempted to believe she was asleep and still dreaming. But if so it was the most vivid dream she’d ever had. 

 

“Bulbasaur _?”  _ she asked.

 

“ _ Bulba?” _

 

“Do you...do you have any idea what happened to us?” she asked, not really expecting an answer.

 

“ _ Bulbasaur, Bulba Bulba,”  _ the reply had a decidedly negative tone to it.

 

“Yeah...I thought not,” she said. Maybe she’d be able to come up with some sort of insight when she wasn’t so tired. Or maybe Becky would know of some natural phenomena that moved people long distances. Either way, Bayley had nothing at the moment.

 

She and Bulbasaur walked in silence for the rest of the way to the center. But as they approached Bayley’s heart sunk. This particular center had an LED screen in it’s window listing it’s services. Unfortunately the word ‘beds’ had been dimmed out and replaced with the word ‘full’ right next to it. 

 

“Oh come on!” Bayley whined. She was tempted scream in frustration at this but she didn’t. Instead she kept trudging. She was moving even slower than before because in addition to her own pack she had Becky’s, which near she could tell was full of rocks given how heavy it was. When they reached the doors Bayley turned to Bulbasaur and said: “I’m going to ask Nurse Molly to to take care of you OK buddy?”

 

“ _ Bulba?”  _ Bulbasaur asked, his eyes widening.

 

“Don’t worry, she’s just going to heal you up. I’ll be here waiting for you when you’re all done,” Bayley assured him. Bending down to scoop him up she gave him a hug and, without separating, whispered: “Thank you Bulbasaur, I couldn’t have done this without you.”

 

“ _ Bulba,”  _ her friend purred deep in his throat as he nuzzled Bayley back. After a few moment’s Bayley set him back down and they both stepped inside. Approaching the main counter Bayley saw that a woman with short brunette hair was working on a computer there. But she looked up as Bayley approached with a friendly smile.

 

“Hi there, welcome to the Pokemon Center, I’m nurse Molly,” she said. She had to have noticed how dishevelled Bayley was looking but she didn’t say anything. Instead she asked: “Would you like me to look after your Pokemon?”

 

“Yes please,” Bayley said. Pidgey had rejoined her shortly after she’d somehow arrived in Viridian and was now resting in her Pokeball. Bayley handed this over and then lifted Bulbasaur up onto the counter. “Please take good care of them ma’am,” she said earnestly.

 

“Of course,” Nurse Molly said warmly.

 

“Do you..do...you have someplace I can rest?” Bayley asked, hoping madly that maybe the sign out front just hadn’t been updated. Nurse Molly’s face fell at this.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry sweetie but we’re full up. But you can eat with the other trainers when dinner is served and you can use the showers and bathrooms. Also, if you want to nap on some of the couches out here I’ll keep your packs behind the desk and wake you up when your Pokemon are all better,” the nurse said. Bayley was obviously disappointed about not having a bed but she was still very grateful for the rest.

 

“Thank you so much ma’am, I think I’ll do that,” she said as she handed over Becky’s pack. She then opened hers and took out her laundry bag, Dopp kit, and towel but before handing this to Molly as well.

 

“You’re welcome, showers are back that way…” Molly said, pointing over her shoulder “...and the laundry room is right across the hallway from them.” 

 

“Thank you,” Bayley said before hurrying off. Some of her exhaustion had burned away at the prospect of finally being able to get clean. If anything, experience showed that she’d been underselling this. It felt wonderful to luxuriate under the hot water for a few minutes and she emerged she swore felt lighter for having washed off the grime. Once she’d changed she dumped the contents of her laundry bag (and the bag itself) into one of the Pokemon Center washers and started it going. 

 

Bayley was forced to wait for it to finish so she filled the time by making a list of things she’d need to pick up while in tow. She’d used hardly any of her supplies on the trip from Pallet Town but to restock. She also felt that she’d been remiss by not bringing her own rope and not having at least SOME basic tools.

 

She was delighted to find that the center had locking dryers. When you put your clothes in the machine gave you a small key. It wouldn’t open to any other key but also wouldn’t give your clothes back until your returned it. Which suited Bayley just fine because she was feeling all of her earlier exhaustion now at double force. Returning to the waiting area she realized that it was still early evening, given that the center wouldn’t clothes for many hours it was still fairly busy. But she did her best to find a quiet corner, where turned a chair to face the wall and curled up in it. She was out almost as soon as she closed her eyes.

 

When she next opened her eyes she noticed that the waiting area was markedly quieter and darker. It took her a moment to regain her bearings and then realized this was because there was no sunlight coming through the windows and that there were only a handful people about. Then she realized someone was touching her shoulder. 

 

“Excuse me, I’m sorry for waking you but your Pokemon are fully healed,” Nurse Molly was saying. Bayley blinked for a second before her mind caught up and, after she yawned, she smiled at this.

 

“Thank you very much, ma’am, I really appreciate it,” she said as she gratefully accepted the two Pokeballs Molly was offering.

 

“You know it’s the silliest thing but I didn’t get your name earlier,” Molly said, laughing at herself.

 

“Bayley Martinez,” Bayley said quickly, realizing she had also forgotten to introduce herself. She offered her hand, like she’d always been taught to, and squeezed the older woman’s own hand firmly.

 

“It’s nice to meet you, Bayley, I have some more good news for you by the way.”

 

Bayley frowned but asked: “What news?”

 

“One of the trainers who reserved one of our solo rooms decided she wouldn’t be needing it anymore. Since you’re the only one physically here and looking for a room I thought you could use it,” Molly said kindly.

 

“Thank you!” Bayley beamed, popping out of her chair. Molly beamed back at her.

 

“I had your two bags sent to room five, it’s just that way,” she said as she pointed. Bayley was gone almost before she finished speaking. Room five was a tiny cubicle of a room, but it was private. Bayley was tempted to flop down onto the bed right away but she had others to look after first. Tapping the buttons on her Pokeballs she watched as her Pokemon appeared. 

 

“Hey, guys! Feeling better?” she asked the two Pokemon as they appeared.

 

“ _ Bulba!” _

 

_ Pidgey!” _

 

“Excellent! So...I’m going to go to bed but I guess I wanted to ask if you two would rather sleep in your Pokeballs or out here with me?” Bayley asked, trying not to let her own strong preference for company show. She didn’t want to pressure them. Fortunately it wasn’t an issue. Both Pokemon hopped up onto the bed beside her.

 

“ _ Bulbasaur,”  _ Bulbasaur said as he curled up against Bayley’s stomach.

 

“ _ Pidgeyyyy,”  _ Pidgey cooed as she settled down beside Bayley’s head.

 

“Thanks guys,” Bayley said, grateful that they’d realized what she’d wanted without having to be told. Then a sudden but somewhat awkward idea occurred to her. “Umm...guys?” she asked tentatively. When she sensed both Pokemon were paying attention she asked: “Ah...I don’t need to like...let you out to use the bathroom right?”

 

In response, Pidgey gently cuffed her on the back of her head with a wing and Bulbasaur rapped her arm with a vine.

 

“Ouch! OK...fine I get it,” Bayley complained, though she was smiling. With that they all went to sleep.

  
  


**-Becky-** **  
****  
** Becky found herself, waking up to an uncomfortable weight on her chest. Opening her eyes, she found herself face to face with Pikachu, who had escaped the medical incubator he was supposed to be resting in. Pikachu apparently had been watching her sleep, which kind of creeped Becky out.    
  
“What are you doing?” Becky asked, confused by Pikachu’s closeness.    
  
When she spoke, Pikachu seemed to be relieved. “Piiika.” He gave her a meaningful look, before moving off of her to sit near the foot of her hospital bed. Becky stared at him in confusion, wishing she could actually understand what the pokemon was saying.    
  
“I am glad you’re okay Pikachu. I was really worried about you, I don’t think words can actually convey how thankful I am that you found Bayley.” Becky didn’t want to bring up the fact that she had actually assumed Pikachu had abandoned her at the beginning. “I am sorry for what I said yesterday morning, about not needing you.”    
  
The electric pokemon seemed to deflate at the reminder, and Becky found herself reaching out to pick him up, but she hesitated. Becky knew she had hurt her traveling companion’s feelings, and she wanted to make it up to him.    
  
“Pikachu I really am sorry. I am not good with people or pokemon, I am not good at expressing myself the right way. I am glad that I got you as a pokemon, and I am truly sorry for not being a good trainer.” Becky swallowed hard and seemed to notice for the first time that Doctor Styles had brought a meal for her to eat when she woke up.    
  
She opened up the tray, needing to do something to distract from the awkwardness. Finding something that resembled a pancake, she tore it in half and offered the larger half to Pikachu. “You should eat too, I am sure you’re probably hungry too.”    
  
Pikachu finally looked at her, clearly debating the pros and cons of taking the food. Finally Pikachu snatched the half of the pancake and ate it slowly.    
  
Becky took that as a good sign and began to eat her half too. It felt good to finally have a taste of real food, instead of just living off of berries. She hummed quietly and leaned back against the pillow.    
  
“I don’t know how long we’re going to have to be here, but as soon as I get released from here, we’ll go do something fun.” Becky offered, though she had a feeling their ideas of fun differed a lot. She wasn’t even sure what Pikachu would consider fun in the first place, but she was willing to find out.    
  
“Pika, pi...pikachu.” Pikachu glanced towards the window, which Becky was assuming meant he wanted to be out and in the fresh air sooner rather than later.    
  
Becky herself was itching to be free, she felt better at the moment than she had the day previous, but she knew leaving would be unwise. Doctor Styles had told her she’d need at least two days to recover her strength, which meant she still had a ways to go. “We’ll get out of here soon, I promise.” She whispered, more for her own benefit than Pikachu’s.    
  
Pikachu’s ears flicked towards the door, signaling the impending arrival of some one, right before there was a knock at the door. Becky cracked a hint of a smile, wondering just how good Pikachu’s hearing actually was.    
  
“Come on in, the door is unlocked,” Becky called, wondering if it was Doctor Styles again, though she was under the belief that doctors and nurses just barged in to poke and prod her when they felt like it. 

 

“Hey Steampunk! Feeling any better today?” Bayley asked as she stepped through the door, Pidgey on her shoulder and Bulbasaur by her feet. 

 

Becky lit up at the sight of her friend. “Bayley.” She said the other girl’s name almost reverently, like she had not realized just how lonely she was until she saw Bayley again. “I am feeling better, they gave me an IV to help me rest and manage the pain.” Becky said giving a nod to the IV still attached to her arm.    
  
Pikachu also seemed pleased to see Bayley as he moved off the bed and scampered closer to her. Pikachu offered some of the pancake he was eating to Bulbasaur and Pidgey, trying to make friends and thank them for their help the day prior.    
  
“I think Pikachu likes you.” Becky was surprised to see her own pokemon being so friendly. “He has good taste in character. You’re a true friend Bayley, thank you for yesterday.” Becky added, feeling beyond grateful.

 

“Aww well like I said, what kind of a friend would I bet if I’d left you there? Besides, I can’t lose my best friend can I?” Bayley asked as she stepped forward and then paused. “Umm…” she asked cautiously “...am I allowed to hug you?”

 

Becky chuckled softly and rolled her eyes. “If hugging is against the rules, then I’m sure you’d be a hardened criminal Bay.” She opened her arms to her friends, inviting her in for a hug. Now that she was a bit more clear-minded, Becky seemed to take full notice of Bayley’s pokemon as well. “You look like you’ve been working out, were you training hard with your pokemon, before you had to play hero?” Becky asked, playfully squeezing at Bayley’s arm. 

 

“Well most of that was Bulbasaur but thank you,” Bayley said happily as she jokingly flexed her arms. She then bent down and asked: “Want to meet Becky properly bud?”

 

“ _ Bulba!” _

 

A moment later Bayley reappeared holding Bulbasaur before setting him gently on Becky’s bed. “Becky, meet your knight in shining...err...plant. This is Bulbasaur.” Bulbasaur beamed as he extended a vine toward Becky.

 

Becky extended a hand towards Bulbasaur’s foot and then hesitated awkwardly, unsure of what actually to do. Eventually she shook the vine gently, an amused look in her eyes. “Nice to meet you Bulbasaur, thank you for being my hero yesterday.” Becky said with a genuine tone of appreciation.    
  
Hesitating again, Becky released the vine and then tilted her head to the side. “Bulbasaur, I have an odd question. Do your vines stretch an infinite distance?” She was asking from a purely scientific place. She wanted to know if the vines coiled up like rope in his bulb or if they somehow could magically grow and extend infinitely. 

 

“ _ Bulba?”  _ Bulbasaur asked sounding startled. He looked over at Bayley who gave a him a subtle ‘just go with it’ signal before fussing with some flowers at Becky’s bedside.

 

Becky was busy trying to inspect Bulbasaur and cautiously reached out a hand to attempt to poke his bulb. 

 

With a sharp sound, Bulbasaur whacked the back of Becky's hand with the tip of his vine.

 

Becky yelped and withdrew her hand. She held it to her chest and just stared Bulbasaur down for a brief moment. “Ow…”   
  


“Becky…” Bayley said patiently, given that she’d had some variation of this conversation with her friend MANY times “...before you touch someone or a Pokemon you should probably ask.”

 

“Right, sorry…” Becky said, she returned her attention to the pokemon on the bed and cleared her throat. “I am sorry Bulbasaur, I shouldn’t have touched your bulb without your consent.”    
  
“ _ Bulbasaur!”  _ the Pokemon said, looking haughty. But then he caught the look Bayley was giving him and he seemed to sag slightly before turning to one side and presenting his bulb to Becky.

 

Becky shook her head. “No,  it’s okay Bayley. Bulbasaur, I appreciate you being willing to let me, but I don’t need too.” Becky was trying to take Bayley’s words to heart. “Does it hurt when people touch the bulb or when the vines come out?” Becky inquired, though she kept her hands to herself.    
  
Pikachu was in the corner, nodding along with what Bulbasaur was saying. “Pika!” Pikachu was glad somebody was finally explaining to Becky that she had to ask before she did things. 

 

“Hmm, Becky...can I ask you a question?” Bayley asked from beside her bed.   
  
“Yeah, you know you can.” Becky was more than willing to answer her best friend’s questions. 

 

“Do you...ah...when you interact with Pikachu, do you just kind of ‘act’ without considering him?” Bayley asked, having guessed already what might have caused Becky to think her Pokemon hated her.   
  
Pikachu interjected this time, giving a nod of his head. Becky kind of paled a little bit, as Bayley’s words caused something to click in the back of her mind.    
  
“Umm..I guess...sometimes?” Becky admitted sheepishly.

 

“Pikachu?” Bayley asked the yellow Pokemon.

 

Pikachu who in the meantime had been trying to offer Pidgey some food from Becky’s hospital tray glanced at Bayley like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Pika?”   
  
“Does Becky sometimes do things without asking you?” Bayley asked.    
  
The yellow pokemon stared at Bayley with the biggest ‘duh’ expression in its face. “Piiiika.” Pikachu gestured towards Becky and then taking the piece of pancake he had been trying to give to Pidgey, hit himself in the face with it.    
  
Becky cringed, sinking further into the mattress. “He’s saying I shot him with a food pellet. It was an accident really.”

 

“You SHOT him?” Bayley demanded incredulously.

“Not intentionally!” Becky protested, shooting a glare in Pikachu’s direction. “He’s being dramatic. I was installing a poke feeder, and I lifted him up to jump start it. It’s not my fault he gave it to much power and it fried the mechanism, causing it to shoot the food pellets out rapidly.”   
  
Pikachu huffed, his little cheeks crackling with electricity. He was miffed that Becky was trying to blame him for the incident.

 

“I see…” was all Bayley said. She saw all too clearly what had likely happened but was trying to figure out how best to broach the subject. The situation was fairly classic Becky Lynch. So excited about some new idea of hers that she forgot that others might not be. Especially she’d tried to use Pikachu as a Pokemon jumper cable without ask.

 

“Did you ASK Pikachu if he wanted to be your battery?” she asked delicately.

 

Becky blinked in surprise, the thought hadn’t actually occurred to her before. “No…”

 

Bayley had to work not to roll her eyes. Turning to Pikachu she asked: “And what did you do when this happened?”

 

Pikachu who was still fairly agitated, focused his attention to Bayley. He pointed to his cheeks and then towards Becky. He made little goggles with his hands to imitate Becky and growled.    
  
Becky scowled at this and folded her arms across her chest, but remained quiet. 

 

“So...SOMEONE said something dumb I'd guess?” she asked lightly as she looked between the two.

 

“ _ Bulbasaur…”  _ Bulbasaur said from Becky’s bed.

 

“ _ Pidgey! Pidg Pidgey,”  _ Pidgey answered as she flapped up onto the back of one of the room’s chairs.

 

Pikachu gave a single nod. Becky had really hurt his feelings with her comments about not wanting him, and even though they had saved each other in the aftermath, he was still hurt.    
  
“I apologized though!” Becky protested, disliking the fact that it felt like everybody was ganging up on her. “He hasn’t apologized for continually shocking me multiple times a day!”   
  
“Chu!” Pikachu fired back, the electricity crackling once more on his cheeks.

 

“Enough…” Bayley said holding up her hands for quiet. Rubbing her forehead she said: “It doesn’t matter anymore who did what to start this. What matters now is that you two need to work together if you’re ever going to be a good team. So let’s start with this...Becky, apologize to Pikachu. Pikachu, apologize to Becky.”

 

Becky clearly wanted to argue, but bit her lip forcing herself to be quiet for a moment. She took a painful deep breath, before meeting Pikachu’s gaze. “I am sorry Pikachu, for everything.”    
  
Pikachu stared at the ground for a moment, before mumbling. “Pi.”

 

Bayley had to work to keep a smile from her face at this. If there was anyone more stubborn than Becky Lynch than it just might be her Pokemon. Clearing her throat she added: “Now, Becky, in the future you will ask Pikachu before you try to make him participate in things?”

 

“Yes, I promise not to use Pikachu as a portable power generator,” Becky replied, making the promise to Pikachu as much as to Bayley. 

 

“And Pikachu…” Bayley said, somewhat pleased to see the smug look melt off the Pokemon’s face “...YOU will try to be more open-minded and to shock Becky less?”

 

Pikachu didn’t look too convinced about shocking Becky less, but with a small nod, agreed to Bayley’s terms. 

 

“There see!” Bayley said happily. Turning to Bulbasaur she gave him a scratch behind the ear before she told Becky: “In no time you’ll be just like Bulbasaur and I!”.

 

“ _ Bulba…”  _ Bulbasaur said skeptically.

 

Pikachu seemed inclined to agree with Bulbasaur but remained quiet. Becky didn’t look that sure of it either. “We’ll see how it goes.” Becky said, before growing silent as well.   
  
Becky conversed with her friend for a little longer, before Doctor Styles came in to announce that visiting hours were over. Becky reluctantly waved goodbye to her friend, before she found herself alone with Pikachu once more.    
  
At first, Becky didn’t know what to say, she felt like she understood where their issues were and that they had made some important progress. There was still this little inkling of doubt in the back of her mind, that perhaps Pikachu would be better off with Bayley or a trainer that understood him more.    
  
All Bayley’s visit had really done was enforce to Becky that she had no idea what she was doing when it came to other humans or pokemon. Becky understood machines and devices best, she didn’t have the sort of connection that her friend did with the pokemon. Pikachu and Becky had reached an understanding of sorts, but Becky didn’t want him to spend the rest of his life being miserable because he was stuck with her.    
“I think I am going to build Bayley a friendship bracelet for her, Bulbasaur and Pidgey. Do you want me to take yours off?” Becky asked, nodding to the little device on Pikachu’s arm.    
  
Pikachu shook his head and moved off of Becky’s bed to the little incubator that he had slept in the night before. He had forgotten he had it on anyways, and though it was weird, he appreciated that she had made it for him.    
  
Becky rolled onto her side, wincing as it shot a fresh wave of pain through her bruised ribs. She didn’t really know what the future held for her and her Pikachu, she figured in the morning she would give him the option to see if he wanted to possibly go with Bayley. Her friend had recommended open and honest communication, and Becky’s biggest fear was that she wasn’t enough for Pikachu.   



	2. Chapter 2: Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bayley, Sasha, and Becky are all in Cerulean City. As Bayley recovers from her injuries, will she reconnected with them? And, as trouble looms over the Cerulean City Gym, how will it affect the girls?

“Can’t you stay just a little longer?” Bayley Martinez asked her father quietly. Eddie Guerrero smiled softly as he reached out and squeezed her shoulder.

 

“I’ll be here when you wake up tomorrow _mija,_ but the doctors say you’re healing really well and you need to resume your journey. Having me around will only make that harder,” he said gently.

 

Bayley nodded silently, trying not to let her lip quiver. She knew her father was right, in fact as far resuming her journey went his presence had probably been about the worst thing possible. Still, she was more than grateful for the four days they’d had together in Cerulean City. Granted, almost all of it had been in the hospital but even so, it had felt like old times for a while. Just her and her dad.

 

But not really just them, Bayley’s two friends Tenille Dashwood and TJ Perkins had also been there. Bayley had been traveling with TJ for a while now but she was surprised that Tenille had chosen to stay.  After all, they’d first ‘met’ when Bayley had fallen into the same pitch black put in Mt. Moon that Tenille had. But maybe when you shared that kind of experience, you were bound to be friends.

 

As Bayley had been sleeping most of the day, she knew that her friends had been forced to entertain themselves. Her dad had come through for them by paying for two hotel rooms so they wouldn’t have to bunk at the Pokemon Center or burn their own money. He’d even taken them out to the fields around the city worked with them and their Pokemon. Bayley’s dad was a former Pokemon Leauge champion and she guessed her friends would have been very excited for the opportunity.

 

At least Tenille would have. TJ, on the other hand, was the most painfully shy person she’d ever met. She just hoped that being the presence of her dad hadn’t left him unable to speak. But, knowing her friend, she guessed it probably had.

 

Thanks to some of the technological miracles coming out Silph Co. healing broken bones was a much quicker process in Kanto than elsewhere. Bayley would normally have been in a cast for weeks, as it was she’d be able to get by in a sling by tomorrow and could remove it next week. Which suited her just fine as she did feel a bit stir crazy trapped in her hospital room.

 

“Dad, will you do me a favor?” Bayley asked.

 

“Of course, _mija.”_

 

“Will you take my Pokemon out today, I feel so bad that they’ve all been in their Pokeballs for so long,” Bayley said wistfully. It was true, though she’d made an effort to get her Pokemon time out of their Pokeballs each day it wasn’t what they were used to.”

 

Eddie smiled again as he said: “Yeah, I think I can do that.”  


“Thanks,” Bayley said happily. She was about to say something else when the door to her hospital room opened.

 

\---  
**  
** **  
** Becky Lynch stared expectantly at Sasha, who had pretty much remained planted in place in front of the Pokemon Center. Sasha was staring at her like she had grown a second head, which considering how Sasha usually looked at her like she was crazy, wasn’t that much of a change.   
  
“Are you coming or not? Professor Angle told me to find you and let you know about Bayley being in the hospital, I did that. It’s your choice if you want to come with me.” Becky said, gripping the straps of her backpack. She was trying to not be annoyed by Sasha’s lack of movement or reaction.   
  
Sasha was in the midst of her own crisis, torn between the desire to actually check on Bayley, and the belief that she didn’t have the right too. There was a lot of history between her and Bayley, but it had been Sasha who had walked out. Sasha had made the decision to walk out, thinking that she was better off without Bayley. She didn’t know if it was a good idea to just waltz back in like she was Bayley’s friend when she hadn’t been there for her in years.   
  
“Thanks for telling me, but I have some training to do,” Sasha said icily, looking anywhere other than Becky.   
  
Becky looked like she wanted to say something, but then just shook her head. Her words would have been wasted on Sasha anyways. “Fine, it’s your choice then,” Becky said, walking away from Sasha and heading towards the hospital.   
  
To the mechanic-side of Becky, it seemed possible that she could somehow fix Sasha’s cold personality and guide her in reconciling with Bayley. Becky saw Sasha like a cog that had grime on it and had been chipped but could work effectively if it was cleaned and maintained.   
  
Realizing that it was unlikely that Sasha was going to come with her, Becky shrugged it off. She plucked a few flowers from a bush along the path to the hospital, deciding she’d cheer Bayley up that way. Becky had been worried sick about Bayley after the Professor had mentioned that Bayley had been hurt.   
  
As she walked into the hospital, she asked the nurse for Bayley’s room number and then headed up to see her friend. She knocked on the door to Bayley’s hospital room, before pushing the door open.   
  
Her eyes landed on Mr. Guerrero first, Becky gave a polite nod. “Hey Mr. G.” She greeted, before shifting her attention to Bayley, a concerned look crossing her face. “Hey Bayley, are you okay?” Becky asked, walking further into the room.   
  
Bayley was one of the strongest people Becky knew, so to see her in a hospital room and in a cast, concerned Becky greatly. Becky held out the flowers she had picked and gave a sheepish smile. “I picked these for you Bay, I heard flowers help people feel better faster.”

 

Bayley beamed as she took the flowers from Becky. Before now she’d missed Becky but she hadn’t quite realized just how badly she had. Smelling the flowers again she said: “Thanks Becks, I hope the hospital wasn’t too mad about you stripping their flower beds.” Her father chuckled at this,

 

Becky ducked her head sheepishly. “I didn’t exactly tell them I was taking the flowers. There was a lot of them.” Becky insisted, realizing that perhaps she had been a bit impulsive. She shifted uncomfortably and nodded to Bayley’s cast. “How bad is it?”  


“Considering how bad it was? Not bad at all,” Bayley said, truthfully. When she’d been carried out of the Mt. Moon cavern on a backboard she’d been in more pain than she’d ever felt before. But now? The injuries felt more like old aches than anything.

 

Becky gave her friend a once over and then nodded slowly. “I’m glad you’re okay Bayley. When I found out, I was really worried about you.” Becky wasn’t the best at explaining her bigger emotions. She didn’t quite have the words for how terrified and helpless she felt when she had learned of Bayley’s injuries. “Do you need anything? What about you Mr. G, do you need me to grab you anything?” Becky asked, wanting to be useful somehow.  
  
“No, thank you Becky, but how are your parents? I haven’t seen them in my shop lately,” Bayley’s father answered. He ran a small hardware store.

 

Becky hesitated, having to think for a moment. “I haven’t really talked to them much. They’re normally busy, but I am sure they’re fine.” Becky said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. She gave a shrug, trying to play it off.  “You know how busy they get.”

 

“I’m sure they are, next time you talk, say hi for me,” Eddie said with a smile. He then made a show of looking at his watch and said: “Well look at that, I better go get your friends _mija_ we’ll dome some training and then we’ll come to visit.” He said this and then gave Becky’s shoulder a squeeze before leaving the room.   
  
“Bye Mr. G!” Becky said, waving to him, before turning her attention back to Bayley. “New friends huh? I made a new friend too. His name is Finn and he’s is pretty brave. He reminds me of you actually.” Becky trailed off, before shaking her head. She moved to sit in the chair by Bayley’s bed. She was debating on if to tell Bayley about seeing Sasha, she wasn’t sure how that would even go over.

 

Bayley was a bit surprised at this news at first. She loved Becky like a sister, but she also knew that ‘people skills’ weren’t her friend's strong suit. The news that she’d made a friend was surprising. But she recovered quickly and said: “Becky, that great! I can’t wait to meet him! Tell me all about the rest of what’s happened since you left Pewter.”

 

“Well after you rescued me and we parted ways, I haven’t done all that much. Well okay, that’s not true… I did do some stuff I guess.” Becky wasn’t sure where to really start. She hadn’t fought in any gyms, but she had made two friends if she counted Medusa.   
  
“There was a strange lady in the woods who had a cabin, but her electricity was busted. The wires had been chewed by some Rattata, so I helped her. Her name is Medusa, she used to be famous I think.” Becky shrugged her shoulders, she hadn’t really looked into Medusa’s claims. She believed the older woman, simply because she hadn’t been given a reason to mistrust her.   
  
Becky pointed to the pokeballs on her hips. “Medusa gave me a Geodude! He’s pretty cool, I also caught a Shinx. He’s electric, which is useful when Pikachu doesn’t want to help me with my inventions. So I have three pokemon now.” Becky said proudly. She was rambling and jumping around a lot in her conversation, but that was just a typical thing for her to do. She knew Bayley would be able to keep up with her randomness.   
  
“Medusa gave me a bike, I was fixing the bike in one of the towns and that’s where I met Finn. He’s super awesome, he’s Irish like me. His name is Fergal, but he likes to be called Finn. I don’t really understand how we became friends, but he looks out for me. Pikachu likes him better which is irritating, but then again Pikachu liked you better too. Speaking of Pikachu, you wanna see him?” Becky questioned, already getting ready to free Pikachu from his Pokeball.

 

Bayley looked around to check that there wasn’t a nurse about to enter her room. She hadn’t ever learned the actual hospital policy, but she had guessed that they weren’t in favor of Pokemon simply wandering around. But what harm could one Pokemon, kept in one room, do?

 

“Sure! It’ll be nice to see him again,” she said eagerly.

 

Becky beamed and set Pikachu free. Pikachu looked startled to be in the hospital room, but relaxed when he saw Bayley. “He missed you,” Becky said, wanting as Pikachu scampered onto Bayley’s hospital bed.

 

“Hey, there dude!” Bayley said happily as she allowed Pikachu to climb into her lap. She then held out her arms and cocked her to the side, asking for permission. But Pikachu took the initiative and jumped at her, allowing Bayley to hug him. When they broke apart Bayley held the Pokemon at arm’s length and studied him.

 

“He’s gotten bigger, more muscle,” she said as she weighed Pikachu in her hands. The up and down motion seeming to delight the Pokemon.

 

“He’s been training with Finn.” Becky rolled her eyes a little bit and let out a huff. “He’s an early riser, but I can’t complain. He helped me fix the Mt. Moon gondolas, and Pikachu totally saved me. But enough about us, tell me about you. I missed you like crazy Bay.” Becky wanted to know everything that Bayley had been up too, and more about the friends Eddie had mentioned.

 

“Whoa wait...You were the one who fixed the Mt. Moon gondolas?” Bayley asked, suddenly very interested.

 

Becky nodded slowly, shifting in her chair. “Yeah, there some a weird pokemon messing with the electricity. But Pikachu helped me, we fixed the gondolas.” Becky said, petting Pikachu’s head. She was thankful Pikachu had protected her against Zapdos.

 

Bayley’s level of interest rose at this mention of a weird Pokemon. Steeling herself she asked: “This...weird Pokemon. Was it small with bright white fur and blue eyes?”

  
“No, it was yellow. It looked like a bird...You wouldn’t believe it unless you saw it, it was huge.” Becky explained before she tilted her head. “You’ve seen a weird pokemon with white fur and blue eyes? Where did you see that at?” She was now the curious one.

 

Bayley bit her lip, unsure how much to share. She didn’t want to sound like a crazy woman to Becky. But she eventually shared the basics of feeling as though she’d been being followed, then the miraculous way that she’d gotten Becky to Viridian, and finally about meeting Mew in the forest.

 

“...My Pokedex had data but it seemed to think that Mew was a myth. But I’ve seen it up close I just...I don’t know if I ever will again,” Bayley finished lamely. She didn’t feel like going into how she felt about Mew not showing up in Mt. Moon.

 

Becky listened intently and then reached for her friend’s good hand. “Hey, if anybody will get to see it again, it’s you. You’re pretty awesome Bayley.” Becky promised, trying to cheer her up. “Ask Pikachu, he can attest to just how cool you are.”   
  
Pikachu nudged Bayley’s leg. “Piiiikachu.”

 

“Thank’s you two,” Bayley said with a smile as she ruffled Pikachu’s ears. She was quiet for a bit before she asked: “Hey Becks?”  
  
“Yeah Bayley, what’s wrong?” Becky asked, tilting her head curiously.

 

“Do you...do you think you could invent something for me?” Bayley asked hesitantly, not wanting to just drop a project on her friend.

 

Becky’s eyes lit up, she loved inventing things. “Yeah, of course, anything for you Bay. What do you need me to invent?” Becky enjoyed being helpful and she saw this as a way to give back. She was still feeling guilty about not getting Sasha to come to the hospital.

 

Bayley explained what she was thinking to Becky, her idea for a kind of ‘Mew detector’. When she’d done, she moved on to a long and detailed account of everything that had happened since she’d last seen her friend. She dwelled particularly on her gym battle, encountering the strange Australian girls, and what happened in Mt. Moon.

 

Having pulled out her notebook, Becky scribbled down the instructions for Bayley’s idea. She wanted to try and get it to be as precise as she could. When Bayley talked about the Australian girls, Becky froze. Her grip tightened so firmly on her pencil that it snapped in half.   
  
“Did… They had a Weedle and a Bellsprout?” Becky asked, her voice quivering a little bit. “That sounds like the girls who attacked me.”

 

“Yeah, they did…” Bayley said cautiously “...Why?”

 

Becky took a ragged breath. “If you see them again...just run the other way. They aren’t good people.” Becky mumbled. She knew Bayley was a brave person, but the two Australian girls were bad news. “Promise me?”

 

Bayley regarded Becky critically for a few moments. It wasn’t in her nature to turn tail and run from anyone, especially not bullies. But she could see how concerned Becky was so she said: “If I’m alone, then yes I promise.”

 

“Fair enough I guess.” Becky really didn’t want to see Bayley get hurt. “We gotta stop only seeing each other when we’re injured,” Becky said, trying to lighten the mood.   
  
Bayley laughed. She sensed Becky was uncomfortable so she smiled and said: “Good point. So...are you going to challenge the gym while you’re here? Pikachu would have an advantage.”

 

Becky looked at Pikachu. “I was thinking about it, I think we could win. We’ve been working on understanding each other. It just depends on if Pikachu feels up for it. What about you?”

 

Bayley thought about it for a while. She’d had fun challenging the Pewter gym but she wasn’t really at her best at the moment. “Maybe, I guess I need to get back on my feet first,” she admitted ruefully.

 

“Yeah, I don’t know if the world is ready for you to beat gyms when you’re injured. You might scare all the other gym leaders.” Becky teased before her gaze softened. “I wish I could have been there to help you. I’d be lost if something happened to my best friend...Speaking of friends, I saw Sasha.”

 

Bayley’s smiled took on a very forced look at this. She hadn’t really thought about Sasha in a very long time, yet the simple mention of the other girl was enough to bring all her old uncertainty back. Swallowing she forced her voice to sound casual as she asked: “Oh yeah? How is she?”

 

“She’s in town, I saw her. Professor Angle told me to tell her, in case she wanted to come to see you. She looked okay, you never can tell with her. I don’t know if she’s coming or not, Sasha is...well Sasha.” Becky didn’t want to see Sasha hurt Bayley, not after the last time.

 

Bayley forced a laugh as she said: “Yeah, you never can.” An awkward silence descended as Bayley looked down and busied herself scratching Pikachu under the chin. It was threatening to become uncomfortable when a cell phone rang.

 

Becky cleared her throat. “I should get that, I’ll be just a second,” Becky said grabbing her phone and stepping outside to answer it. “Hey Finn, yeah I’ll be right down.”

  
\---   
  
Sasha didn’t know what she was thinking, entering the hospital. Seeing Bayley was a bad idea, but there was a small part of Sasha that needed to see with her own eyes that Bayley was okay. If she could just peek in on the room and see that Bayley was fine, then Sasha knew she’d feel so much better.   
  
There were a few pangs of regret bouncing around inside of Sasha’s chest. She knew she had hurt Bayley by cutting her out, her reasoning which had seemed so practical back then didn’t seem logical now. Sasha felt like she was fighting a war inside of herself, part of her wanted to apologize, but the other part felt she was too far gone to do so.   
  
Pushing her conflict down, Sasha shook her head and marched to the Nurse’s station. “Could you please tell me what room Bayley Martinez is in?”   
  
The nurse seemed to take her sweet time, which irritated Sasha who was tapping her foot impatiently. Sasha had never been all that patient when it came to things outside of her control, she liked to get information quickly.   
  
“Never mind, I’ll find it myself,” Sasha muttered, turning and heading to the elevator. She pressed the button for the second floor, but when the door opened, she found herself face to face with Bayley’s dad.   
  
Eddie had always been Sasha’s idol, she had always wanted to be just like him. Sasha had seen up close, just how attentive Eddie had been to Bayley. He had always allowed Sasha to stay the night when her parents went out of town on business with her brother. There were a couple of years where Sasha felt Bayley and Eddie were more of a family than her own.   
  
It had never left her mind however that she didn’t belong there with them. As much as Eddie had been a father figure, he wasn’t her father, he was Bayley’s. Eventually, Sasha had stopped coming by as much, slowly severing ties with them. Sasha knew it had hurt Bayley’s feelings, but Sasha hated being vulnerable. She didn’t want to give them the chance to hurt her later on, by ignoring her the way her own family did.   
  
Eddie looked surprised to see her, but he flashed a warm smile. “Sasha, it’s great to see you. You’re getting so tall.” He said, as friendly as ever.   
  
Sasha ducked her head sheepishly and stepped into the elevator. “It’s good to see you too, Mr. G.”   
  
Eddie nodded slowly and then nodded to the button panel. “You going to see Bayley, she’s on floor number three. I think she’d be happy to see you.”   
  
Sasha hesitated but then pressed the button for the third floor. “I… I don’t think that’s such a good idea, sir. I just wanted to make sure she was okay.”   
  
Humming softly, Eddie regarded Sasha with a careful glance. “She is injured, but with proper care, the wounds will heal. Sasha, I don’t know what happened between you and my daughter, I don’t need to know because it’s not my business, but I do know she misses you.”   
  
“She shouldn’t miss me, sir. Bayley is kind and soft, I couldn’t be that person. We just drifted apart.” Sasha felt guilty enough, there were times where she wanted to call Bayley but realized that due to her own choices she couldn’t.   


Eddie nodded sympathetically. “People do drift apart, like the ocean drifts from the beaches, but when they have that strong of a bond, just like the waves, people come back.”   
  
Sasha sighed quietly, unable to look him in the eyes. “It was nice to see you, Sir. I think I may just leave a note. I am not sure I am ready to have that conversation with Bayley yet.” She was thankful when the elevator dinged, quickly putting some distance between her and Eddie.   
  
When she found Bayley’s room, she thought about knocking and going in but settled for leaving a note at the Nurse’s station.  Maybe it was cowardly to not actually face Bayley, but Sasha wasn’t sure she was ready for that yet.

  
Instead of going for the elevator this time, Sasha took the stairs. She didn’t want to chance running into Eddie again. Seeing him had made her feel emotional and vulnerable, he hadn’t even scolded her, yet she felt shame for how she had treated Bayley.     
  
She made a break for the exit, trying to go out the side entrance. Almost directly in front of her was Seth, talking in a group with some people.   
  
“Oh god no,” Sasha muttered, realizing one of the people Seth was talking to was Becky.     
  
“Look who actually did make it to the hospital. I thought you had important things to do?” Becky asked, smirking at Sasha.   
  
Sasha rolled her eyes. “I had a few minutes to spare, but I am leaving now. Don’t try and make a big deal out of it.”   
  
“Did you see Bayley?” Becky folded her arms across her chest, trying to get a read on Sasha.   
  
“It doesn’t matter if I saw her or not. I left her a note, now I should be going…” Sasha trailed off when she found herself being stared at by both Seth, Becky and the guy they had been talking to. “Who is he anyway?”   
  
“This is my buddy, Finn. He’s traveling with me.” Becky lit up and nudged Finn.   
  
“Finn Balor, at your service,” Finn said, extending a hand to Sasha, only for her to blatantly ignore him.   
  
Sasha rolled her eyes skyward. “Oh god, there is another one of them. Come on Seth, let’s go.”   
  
Seth frowned deeply. “If your friend is in the hospital, you should check on her. She might need you, you being there could make a big impact.”   
  
Becky snorted and laughed. “I wouldn’t call Sasha a friend of Bayley’s, Sasha ditched Bayley the first chance she got. She’d do the same to you, so you might want to watch out.”   
  
Sasha balled her hand into a fist. “Why don’t you shut up Becky, Bayley isn’t here to keep me from punching your stupid face in,” Sasha growled, her temper flaring.   
  
“Ladies, ladies calm down,” Finn muttered, unsure of why they were arguing with each other. “There is no need to punch each other.”   
  
“Sasha, you should go up and see your friend. You’re on a journey now, you don’t need to make enemies. Maybe bury the hatchet.” Seth suggested.

 

Sasha didn’t look all that thrilled or convinced, but she could see the logic in Seth’s words. “Fine, we can go see Bayley. But don’t expect us to be best friends again.” Sasha grumbled.   
  
Becky didn’t want to see Bayley get hurt again, but she knew that Bayley was kind and would likely give Sasha another chance. “Don’t worry the best friend spot is taken anyways,” Becky said, her tone holding a warning. She then led the group of four back up to Bayley’s hospital room.

 

Bayley had been sleeping soundly, dreaming about pokemon, when something opened her eyes. Blinking several times she looked around, wondering what might have woken her up. There was nothing obvious, just her hospital room. Frowning she noticed her Pokeballs sitting on the rolling table beside her bed. Smiling she reached out and tapped the button on the one in the center.

 

There was a loud popping flash and a moment later a Bulbasaur appeared on the end of her bed.

 

“ _Bulbasaur!”_ the pokemon said happily as he saw Bayley. They hadn’t been able to spend much time together recently.

 

“Hey there pal, how are ya?” Bayley asked him. Before the Pokemon could answer the door opened and one of Bayley’s nurses stuck her head in.

 

“Did I hear-” she asked before she saw Bulbasaur. Her expression changed from curiosity to bemusement. Turning to face Bayley she said: “You know the rules.”

 

“Pleaseeeee,” Bayley said, clasping her hands and smiling.

 

“Ten minutes,” the nurse said sternly, though she wiggled her eyebrows as she left.

 

“ _Bulba?”_ Bulbasaur asked curiously, head cocked to one side.

 

“She is nice isn’t she,” Bayley said with a grin as she ruffled the pokemon’s ears. Bulbasaur purred happily at this and Bayley laughed. She spent a pleasant few minutes with her Pokemon, reminded of the days when they’d first began their journey together. It had been just them back then.

 

She was interrupted by a tentative knock on her door. Looking up she saw Becky in the window, beaming at her. Bayley waved and then beckoned her inside. To her surprise, it wasn’t just Becky who entered, there were two boys she didn’t know with her friend. But the biggest surprise came last of all.  
  
“Hiii Bayley, I brought some friends...and Sasha,” Becky said, grinning as she stepped into the room. “This is my friend Finn, I told you about him already. This other dude is Seth, he’s pretty cool too. Then you know her.”   
  
Clearly, Becky hadn’t entirely forgiven Sasha for the girl’s treatment of Bayley. Sasha awkwardly cleared her throat and walked further into the room, but stayed close to the door in case she needed to leave.   
  
“I see your Bulbasaur is getting strong,” Sasha said awkwardly.

 

Bayley studied Sasha for a while, a storm of emotions roiling within her. She hadn’t actually had a real conversation with Sasha for years and now...here she was. To buy herself time she petted Bulbasaur once more before forcing a smile.

 

“Thank’s he’s the best...err- how’s Charmander?” she asked awkwardly.

 

“He’s good, getting strong. He’s...tough.” Sasha absentmindedly ran the palm of her hand over the pokeball on her hip. She didn’t know what to say but settled for studying the floor. “Are you going to be okay?”

 

“It looks like it, the doctors took good care of me....thanks for coming to see through. It’s...it’s nice to see you,” Bayley said, looking at Sasha though the other girl wasn’t looking at her. She was realizing that it really was nice to see Sasha. She’d missed her former friend and had never really understood why the distance had grown up between them.

 

Sasha forced herself to make eye contact, surprised to hear that Bayley was happy to see her. Sasha locked eyes with Bayley, her gaze searching. The apology that she knew she owed Bayley was stuck in her throat, her mouth felt dry. She wanted to tell Bayley she was sorry, wanted to drown herself in the forgiveness she hoped Bayley would offer her.   
  
“It’s good to see you too, I am glad you’ll be okay.” Sasha finally managed to say. There was more she wanted to say, more she wanted to explain but she didn’t have the words. Nor did she want to expose her weakness in front of the crowd.   
  
All too quickly the moment was ruined when Seth stepped forward and smiled at Bayley. “That’s a cool Bulbasaur you got there.”   
  
Sasha took that as her cue to fade back closer to the door, she knew that Bayley deserved better. Bayley had better friends now like Becky.

 

Bayley turned to smile at the boy and said: “Thanks, he’s a real tough guy.” But she immediately turned her attention back to Sasha and asked: “Sasha, can we see Charmander?”

 

Sasha blinked in surprise and cleared her throat. “Um...sure.” She grabbed the pokeball, releasing her pokemon.   
  
Charmander who hated being cramped in the pokeball for too long gave an unhappy yawn. “Char…” It seemed to notice the strange people and gave Sasha a curious look, before focusing on Bulbasaur. “Charmander.”

 

“ _Bulba?”_ Bulbasaur responded before looking curiously at Bayley for some indication.

 

“Go on pal, he’s a friend,” Bayley urged him. Bulbasaur didn’t seem wholly convinced but he looked down at Charmander from the bed and inclined his head gravely.

 

Charmander stared back at the Grass-type Pokemon. “Charmander…”  
  
Sasha cleared her throat again, still feeling awkward. “Bulbasaur looks pretty cool, does he know a lot of moves yet?”   
  
Bayley, who had been watching the Pokemon approvingly, looked up and nodded. She was always eager to discuss her Pokemon. “Yeah, he’s really coming along! We’ve been training really hard to get stronger.”

 

“Yeah, I can relate to that. I got my first gym badge, I was hoping to challenge the gym here, even though it’s a type disadvantage. I have another pokemon, it’s a Poochyena, but I call her Lady.” Sasha said, for the first time actually relaxing. When she talked about Charmander and Lady, she seemed to soften.   
  
“Don’t forget you have that Psyduck.” Seth pointed out. “She saved a Psyduck and then it adopted her, and she totally hates it.”   
  
Sasha scowled and glared at Seth. “I don’t hate Psyduck, I just didn’t want to catch it.”   
  
Becky snorted a little bit. “I’d pay to see you get annoyed by a psyduck.”   
  
Charmander growled at Becky, not liking that his master was being picked on.

 

“Becky…” Bayley said quietly but firmly “...be nice. And that’s cool about the gym. I’ll need to check with my friends but maybe we’ll head over there too.” Before she could say anymore, the door to the room burst open almost knocking Finn over.  


“No, absolutely not!” the nurse said, much more sternly now.

 

“What?” Bayley asked, startled.

 

“The Charmander has to go away, now!” the nurse demanded.

 

Sasha tensed and glared at the nurse, wondering why she was singling Charmander out. “He wasn’t going to attack her. He’s not doing anything.” Sasha grumbled defensively. She threw out the pokeball, not wanting somebody to try and take him from her.

 

“His tail,” the nurse explained, more calmly now.

 

“What?” Bayley asked.

 

“There are oxygen tanks around, open flames are a bad idea,” she explained before she turned to leave. As she did she added: “A few more minutes Bayley.”

 

“Oh, right,” Bayley said sheepishly. She’d been so happy to have guests that she had forgotten her ticking clock. But she perked up quickly as she turned to the boys and asked: “How did you guys meet Becky and Sasha?”

 

“I met Sasha like two days ago. She came running into town, and I met her in the park. We’ve been inseparable ever since.” Seth said, throwing a teasing wink at Sasha, who was silently fuming still.   
  
Finn nudged Becky’s shoulder in an almost affectionate sort of way. “I met Becky in Pewter City, she was fixing her bike and I offered to help her. We’ve been traveling together, I like her company.”   
  
Becky blushed a bit shyly. “Finn is really cool, he helped me fix the Mt. Moon gondolas.” She said sheepishly, before glancing to Bayley. “Where are your friends at Bayley?”

 

“I think they’re out with my dad, they were getting in some training,” Bayley said this last part wistfully. She was developing a bad case of cabin fever being cooped up in her hospital room.

 

“I love your dad, he’s so sweet,” Becky said, before tilting her head. “Maybe when you’re allowed to be released, we could all go to the gym together. I wanted to try and get my first badge.”   
  
Sasha arched a brow. “You haven’t fought at a gym yet?”   
  
Becky shook her head slowly. “It wasn’t all that important to me, but I’d like to try. I think me and Pikachu could handle this gym.”

 

“You’ll have a type advantage, and I know Pikachu will do his best,” Bayley reassured her friend.

 

Becky nodded her head. “Yeah, he’s pretty great. We’ve been working really well together. Do you know when you get released from the hospital?”

 

Bayley thought about it. “Tomorrow I think, so if you guys can wait that long I’d love to go to the gym with you.”

 

“ _Bulba!”_ Bayley’s pokemon declared.

 

“You want to challenge there too huh?” Bayley asked him.

 

“ _Bulbasaur!”_

 

“We’ll see what we can do buddy,” Bayley told him with a laugh. With that, the nurse arrived once again to order everyone out and Pokemon away. So, with a sad smile, Bayley bade goodbye to everyone and promised to see them tomorrow.

 

Once Becky, Sasha and their two male companions left, the girls couldn’t get away from each other fast enough. Becky still didn’t trust Sasha and that was evident by the way she kept side-eyeing her.   
  
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Sasha grumbled, jamming her finger against the down button on the elevator.   
  
“I don’t get you, I thought you didn’t care about Bayley, why did you come?” Becky asked, ignoring the way Finn was already reaching for her elbow to pull her back.   
  
“Are we really going to go over this again?” Sasha asked, already irritated from their argument earlier outside the hospital.   
  
Becky nodded, ready to hold the elevator at a stand-still until she got the answers she wanted. “Yes, we are going to do this again. I don’t want to see Bayley get hurt, you didn’t want to come earlier, so what changed your mind.”   
  
Sasha stamped her foot on the ground, frustration boiling underneath her skin. “Maybe I am not all sunshine and rainbows like you Lynch, maybe I don’t express myself in the clingy way you do, but I do care about Bayley.”   
  
“You have a funny way of showing it.” Becky shot back sarcastically.   
  
“I was friends with Bayley, long before you were Becky. Maybe I made a mistake by walking out, but at least I am capable of standing on my own two feet. At least I have proven I can be something without her, all you are is a leech. Clinging desperately to Bayley because nobody else wants you. I bet your little boyfriend doesn’t even want you, he only pities you.” Sasha said harshly.   
  
It was like the dam had broken, Becky had kept pushing at Sasha’s buttons and now she was going to pay for it. It was too late to stop Sasha because she had gotten on a roll.   
  
“You want to know something Becky? All you are is a reject, I’d feel sorry for you, but I think Bayley feels sorry enough for the both of us.” Sasha spat.   
  
Becky flinched, Sasha’s words hitting some nerves and some of her insecurities. “Shut up Sasha.”   
  
“Make me,” Sasha said, shoving Becky’s shoulders.   
  
“At least my parents wanted me. I may be a reject, but at the very least my parents acknowledge that I exist and love me. Who is the real reject, Sasha?” Becky shouted angrily.   
  
Sasha’s eyes widened and without thinking, she lashed out and struck Becky hard across the face. She stared at stinging hand in shock, before shoving past Finn and Seth to get out of the elevator.   
  
Seth followed after her, confused as to why things had escalated so quickly. “Sasha, wait up.” He called, trying to catch up.   
  
Becky blinked away the tears that had sprung to her eyes and sniffled. Her cheek was throbbing, but she knew her words had hurt worse than any slap Sasha could dish out.   
  
“Are you okay Lass?” Finn asked, concern filling his gaze. He cupped her face, trying to see how badly Sasha had struck her.   
  
“I’m fine, I kind of deserved it. Bayley’s not going to be happy, but Sasha is such a jerk.” Becky grumbled, leaning away from Finn’s touch. Sasha’s words were replaying over and over in her head. “Do you think I’m a reject.”   
  
Finn shook his head. “No, of course not. I think you’re brilliant and funny, you can even be charming in your own way.” He offered, trying to make her feel better.   
  
“What I said was kind of mean,” Becky admitted, knowing that she shouldn’t have sunken that low. “Bayley is the one who told me that Sasha’s sensitive about her family. I shouldn’t have used it against her.”   
  
With a soft sigh, Finn nodded. “Maybe you should apologize, but I’d wait until she cools off. You’re likely to get a shiner if you piss her off again.”   
  
“Yeah, I’ll wait.” Becky decided.   
  
Sasha was pissed as she all but exploded out of the hospital doors. She was so furious and lost in her anger, that she completely ignored Seth who was having to run to try and catch up.   
  
“Sasha, talk to me. What is that all about, you hit that girl in the face.” Seth had realized from hanging out with Sasha that her family was an off-limits topic.   


Whirling around, Sasha got nose to nose with Seth. “She deserved it, she’s been provoking me all day. I try to be nice to them, to Bayley and all Becky can do is poke and poke me. She’s luckily slapping her is all I did.” Sasha ranted, her eyes blazing.   
  
Seth stared down at her and then held up his hands, not wanting to fight her. “She shouldn’t have provoked her, but you let her egg you on. You didn’t have to react, you have to pick your moments. You called her a reject, you knew that she was going to come back swinging right?”   
  
“Whose side are you on?” Sasha snapped, not wanting to admit that maybe she had taken things to far.   
  
“You need to be the bigger person, being reactive in those situations is only going to get you hurt. Why don’t we go get something to eat and calm down okay?” Seth suggested, trying to help Sasha calm down from her anger.   
  
Sasha nodded, ready to calm down, she took a deep breath. She wanted to let the anger roll off of her. Her plan of action was to get to the hospital before Becky, so she could have time to explain her side to Bayley. Then if Bayley wanted her to leave she would, avoiding Becky so she wouldn’t have to get into an argument again was for the best.

 

\----------

 

The next morning Bayley was almost literally burst with excitement. She was being discharged today and she would get to spend time with Becky. Not only that, she might even have a chance to rekindle her friendship with Sasha. It was hard not to smile.

 

“Now, remember, take these once a day and keep the sling on for another week. Not an hour less! Understood?” Bayley’s nurse reminded her for the fifth time. Bayley really liked her so she wasn’t annoyed by this.

 

“I promise!” Bayley said as she hoisted her bag gingerly onto her back. Which was hard with you had a sling on.

 

“Hmm, I wish you had a smaller pack,” the nurse mused.

 

“I gotta carry stuff with me,” Bayley reminded her as she squared her shoulders.

 

“Well, be careful OK?” the nurse finally relented as she and Bayley hugged.

 

“I will, thanks so much for everything!” Bayley said as she stepped away from the older woman and left the room. Her father had already come to say goodbye so all she had to do was meet Tenille and TJ and they could head to the gym. If that was still the plan.

 

As agreed she found them in the first-floor waiting area, but she also ran into someone else.

 

Sasha was standing by the vending machine, pretending to be aloof, but instead feeling really nervous. The second she saw Bayley, she straightened up and cleared her throat. “Um...can I please talk to you for just a second?”

 

“Uh, sure, everything OK?” Bayley asked as she allowed Sasha to lead her to one side.

  
“Well...let me start off by saying I’m glad you’re out of the hospital now,” Sasha said, deciding to lead with that. “I owe you an a-.” Sasha grimaced, the words getting stuck in her throat. She had never been really great at apologizing, but seeing Bayley again had her feeling some sort of way.   
  
Sasha rubbed the back of her neck and tried again. “I’m sorry for the way that I treated you. I was wr-...I was wrong.” Sasha forced the words out, doing her best to make eye contact despite the intense urge to look away.   
  
She knew she needed to tell the truth about smacking Becky. “I just wanted to look you in the eyes and apologize. I may owe Becky an apology too, we both said some mean things to each other and I smacked her.” Sasha admitted, finally averting her gaze.

 

Bayley was taken aback, she hadn’t been expecting anything like this. She had been hurt that Sasha had suddenly begun pulling away from her years ago, but she’d never actually felt like Sasha OWED her an apology. She was just happy they were speaking again. Still, it would have taken a blind woman not to see how hard this was on Sasha to say these words.

 

“Sasha…” Bayley said as she put a hand on the other girl’s arm “...I’m just happy we’re talking again. Everything else is in the past.” Bayley then leaned forward and gave Sasha a hug.

 

Sasha blinked in surprise, stiffening at the contact. It took her a second, but slowly she relaxed into the hug and reciprocated it. “Thank you, Bayley,” Sasha mumbled quietly against Bayley’s good shoulder. She hadn’t expected Bayley to forgive her so immediately but she was thankful.

 

“Ready to go?” Bayley asked as she broke their hug.

 

“Yeah, actually I am ready to go. I don’t know where Becky and her friend Finn is, but Seth is outside the front entrance.” Sasha explained, stuffing her hands in her pockets.

 

“We’ll find her, let me just go say hey to TJ and Tenille and then we can go,” Bayley said happily as she put her arm in Sasha’s and pulled her along.

 

Sasha forced a smile, allowing Bayley to drag her over to TJ and Tenille. “Hey, I’m Sasha from Pallet Town,” Sasha said attempting to be nice for Bayley’s sake.

 

Tenille looked somewhat surprised by this oddly formal greeting but she took it in stride. Smiling she said: “Hello Sasha from Pallet Town, I’m Tenille from...Brisbane.”

 

“I’m TJ,” TJ muttered to his shoes.

 

“Be nice you two,” Bayley told them. She winced then as her arm gave a painful throb.

 

“You alright Bay? Tenille asked.

 

“I’m much better than when we met,” Bayley said, forcing some cheer into her voice. Tenille laughed at this.

 

“Fair enough,” she said. She shot a sideways glance over at TJ at this, but when he didn’t answer she gave him a small dig with her elbow.

 

“Oh..umm...I’m glad you’re...OK…” TJ said to Bayley’s chin. But Bayley’s good mood was such that TJ’s painful awkwardness was fully endearing today.

 

“So where’s Becky?” Bayley asked them. When she got blank looks she sighed and added: “The Irish girl?”

 

Sasha wasn’t sure what to make of TJ, but she did find Tenille amusing. “Last I saw Becky she was with Finn. I am sure they’re outside talking to Seth, I think Finn and Seth were bonding.” Sasha answered.  
  
Sasha led the way outside, surprised to find that she was in fact right. Finn, Becky, and Seth were all talking outside by the front entrance.   
  
“They finally released you, I was worried they’d try to keep you.” Becky teased, giving Bayley a gentle hug. She nodded politely to Tenille and TJ. “You must be Bayley’s friends.”

 

“Must we?” Tenille asked with a grin, she then winked at  Bayley’s dirty look. “I suppose we are then, I’m Tenille and the silent one is TJ.” TJ didn’t say anything but just blushed at this.

 

Becky beamed warmly. “Nice to meet you Tenille, TJ. I’m Becky, this is Finn and that’s Seth.” She said pointing to each of them in turn.   
  
“So Becky mentioned we might be heading to the gym, is that still the plan?” Seth asked, wanting to know what the game plan was.   
  
“I am still down to go to the gym,” Sasha interjected, still ignoring Becky who was doing the same.

 

Bayley had noted the tension between the two girls but also knew how pointless it would be to intervene.  
  
So she kept her smile on her face and said: “Alright, who knows where it is?”

 

“Yeah, I know where it is,” Seth said, he had been in town longer than Sasha, or the duo of Finn and Becky. “I’ll show you.” He called, leading the way towards the gym.   
  
Sasha fell in step with Tenille and TJ, wanting to get to know Bayley’s new friends. Well mostly she wanted to get to know Tenille, and she knew Bayley was expecting her to play nice.  “So Tenille, do you have any badges? Are you going to challenge the leaders here?”   
  
Sasha had heard a lot about the Cerulean City gym. She knew that the gym leaders Nikki and Brie were tough to beat if a trainer wasn’t at the top of their game.

 

“One or two, but those were back home. I’m here for a new challenge,” Tenille said airily. Bayley’s interest was piqued, mostly Tenille didn’t talk about her home.   
  
“Well, I hope you find the challenge you're looking for,” Sasha said before Seth opened the gym door for their group.   
  
The gym was more impressive on the inside than it had looked on the outside. Various water types were swimming and playing in an Olympic-sized swimming pool that covered most of the ground floor. Large bleachers lined the walls and led up to a balcony where trainers could watch the gym battles up close and personal.   
  
Becky released Pikachu from his pokeball, he looked irritated that he had been forced to ride in the ball. He scampered up onto Becky’s shoulders, letting her carry him up to the balcony.   
  
“This place is cool,” Becky commented.  

 

Bayley had to agree as she looked around her. The place had a very ethereal feel with the flowing water everywhere. She was turning in a slow circle when there was a sudden buzz before a PA speaker gave a beep.

 

“ _Attention, a gym battle is about to begin. The challenger, Charlotte Flair of Pallet Town, will face the gym leaders, Nikki, and Brie Bella. The combatants will be allowed to use two Pokemon at once and up to four total. There will be no time limit. The battle begins in five minutes.”_

 

Bayley turned to exchange looks with Becky and Sasha, seeking to confirm that they’d heard what she had. Their expressions confirmed this and they all wordlessly began moving toward the bleachers.

 

“Pallet Town, is this Charlotte girl a friend of yours?” Finn was curious now, he had never met that many people from Pallet town before.  
  
“I wouldn’t call her a friend, but we did all get our pokemon at the same time,” Becky answered, scratching Pikachu’s back. The pokemon had startled at the sound of the loudspeaker.

 

“We’re...we know each other,” Bayley said, as ever reluctant to speak ill of anyone. Fortunately, they didn’t have to walk far to reach the bleachers and they settled into seats about halfway up the steps. There were a few other people in the audience but not so many they didn’t get an entire section to themselves.

 

When they’d taken their seats they looked down at the battlefield. Unlike most such places, the Cerulean field was a pool of water with only two small platforms for non-water pokemon to stand. At one end of the pool stood a pair of dark-haired women who were probably the gym leaders: the Bella Twins. At the other was the unmistakable statuesque blonde form of Charlotte Flair.

 

“Is she any good?” Tenille asked the group.

 

“She has a Squirtle that is pretty tough to beat,” Sasha admitted, having lost to Charlotte before.   
  
“I haven’t seen her since Pallet Town, but she’s rich and can afford to have the best people help her train. So I am assuming her pokemon are really talented.” Becky said, shrugging.

 

Bayley was about to say something when she noticed that Sasha was gritting her teeth. She frowned but decided not to push the other girl. She was just grateful they were speaking again. So rather than ask she simply said: “Her whole family are really good trainers.”

 

“I don’t know whether to hope she wins or hope she loses. Should be interesting to see how strong her pokemon have gotten.” Sasha mumbled, focusing on the way that Charlotte seemed to be prepping.   
  
Charlotte had sent out her Squirtle and seemed to be giving her a last-minute pep talk.   
  
“She’s only sent out Squirtle, is she really going to fight two on one with just her. She’s fighting water with water, I don’t see that working out for her.” Becky was surprised, but then again Charlotte had always been arrogant enough to do something like that.

 

“She’s a cocky sheila isn’t she?” Tenille said as she watched. When she finally noticed the silence that greeted this remark she turned to look and saw the confusion on the faces of the others. She rolled her eyes and explained: “It’s means ‘girl’.”

 

Before anyone else could speak, the battle began.

 

\---  
  
Charlotte stared down at her Squirtle, going over the battle plan one last time for clarification. “Strike hard and strike fast Squirtle.”   
  
Squirtle gave a nod and turned to face Brie and Nikki, the Gym Leaders of the Cerulean Gym. The Twins look confused by the fact that Charlotte only had Squirtle out.   
  
“You do realize we said you could have two pokemon out right?” Brie asked, giving Charlotte a look of concern.   
  
“Yep, I heard you. I choose Squirtle, she’s more than strong enough to take both your pokemon out.” Charlotte said confidently.   
  
Nikki Bella’s eyebrow twitched and she shrugged. “Your funeral, I choose you Staryu.” She threw out her prized Staryu.   
  
Brie followed suit by throwing out her Horsea. “Get that Squirtle, Horsea.”   
  
Focusing on the two pokemon across from her, Charlotte slowly smiled. “Squirtle use tackle on that Horsea.”   
  
“Horsea go under the water and try to dodge,” Brie commanded.   
  
“Staryu, help Horsea out, use Psywave,” Nikki said, trying to help Brie out.   
  
Charlotte waited, a smile spreading across her face. Things were going according to her strategy. “Squirtle withdraw into your shell and then when Horsea gets close enough use bite.”

  
Brie tried to call out to warn Horsea about Squirtle’s impending attack, but before she could, her pokemon moved too close to Squirtle’s shell. Squirtle proceeded to poke her head back out and bite Horsea hard.   
  
“Staryu use tackle!” Nikki cried out.   
  
Squirtle still had a good grip on Horsea, only releasing the grip when Staryu came spinning towards it in a tackle. Charlotte ordered Squirtle to dive under the water right as Staryu collided with Horsea.   
  
Brie frowned as Horsea fainted. “Good try Horsea, it’s up to you now Nikki,” Brie said, withdrawing her fainted pokemon.   
  
“You got lucky Flair, no more playing nice,” Nikki growled, stamping her foot on the ground.   
  
“Losers take a walk,” Charlotte called, winking condescendingly at Brie.   
  
Nikki was about to order Staryu to attack Squirtle again when a loud noise shook the gym. Smoke started to fill the gym, coming from one of the back rooms.   
  
“What’s going on?” Charlotte asked, thinking that Nikki was trying to cheat somehow.   
  
Nikki Bella ignored her and withdrew Staryu, she ran off the battlefield and towards the smoke.   
  
“What the heck! Our battle isn’t over yet, you’re forfeiting by running away.” Charlotte was furious and snatched up her confused-looking Squirtle, racing after Nikki and Brie. “We’re not finished!”

 

Up in the stands, Bayley felt it as the entire gym seemed to rock before smoke began billowing out of the gym’s rear doors. She watched as the Bella’s recalled their Pokemon and ran to check on the disturbance. She also saw Charlotte tear after them just as a fire alarm began to blare.

 

“We gotta get out of here,” TJ said, his voice panicked. Bayley wasn’t going to argue. She and the others were standing when the front doors to the gym flew open as though hit by a battering ram. Men and women in dark uniforms with the letter ‘R’ on their chests began to pour in.

 

“What the?-” Tenille asked but someone else in the stands shouted an answer.

 

“It’s team rocket!”

 

Becky tensed the second she saw the ‘R’s on the shirts. “Oh god, not again.” She was starting to freak out a little bit when Pikachu gave her a light shock.   
  
Finn frowned at Becky’s reaction before he looked to Seth and TJ. “Come on, let’s see if we can keep some of those nasty Team Rocket members back.”   
  
Seth nodded in agreement. “Ladies, try and find another way out. We’ll try and take on some of Team Rocket. Maybe try and rescue some of the pokemon in the pool, they’ll be ripe for the taking since their trainers aren’t here to protect them.”   
  
Sasha didn’t care much for being told what to do, but she did want to help. “I ran into some members of Team Rocket at Mt. Moon, they were kicking a defenseless Cleffa. I won’t let them hurt another pokemon.”

 

“I don’t know who these ‘ladies’ you’re talking to are, but if we’re doing this then I’m in! You’re with me right TJ?” Tenille said as she jumped to her feet, a Pokeball already in her hand. TJ gave a tiny squeak but nodded and everyone seemed to think that was enough.

  
Becky looked about as confident as TJ, she wasn’t so much a coward as she was fearful of running into the two Team Rocket girls who had beat her up and left her for dead. “Bayley…”   
  
Remembering her friend’s conversation about Team Rocket, Bayley understood the problem. Her own inclination ran closer to Tenille’s that TJ’s but she also wouldn’t just leave Becky here. She was trying to think of something to do when Tenille supplied the answer.

 

“The boys and I will do what we can here, you three go find your friend,” the Aussie girl shouted as threw her pokeball. “GO, ELECTABUZZ!!” she cried and a moment later the brilliantly yellow pokemon with a black zig-zag appeared.

  
Sasha was confused as to why Becky was freaking out but chalked it up to the fact that Becky had always been weird. She didn’t consider Charlotte much of a friend, but she recognized that saving Charlotte was in their best interest and the right thing to do.   
  
“Come on Lynch,” Sasha muttered, grabbing Becky by the elbow and dragging her down the bleachers and in the direction the twins and Charlotte had gone.   
  
“I don’t know about this.” Becky reluctantly followed Sasha, shooting a pleading look at Bayley. Pikachu on the other hand, seeming willing and ready to fight.

 

“It’ll be fine, just stay with us and if you need to to stay behind us,” Bayley reassured her. She really wished she had more time to reassure her friend but she got the sense that time was one thing they didn’t have. She hurried along after Sasha and the reluctant Becky, marveling at how awkward it was to job with only one arm.  
  
Sasha reached the door that the Bellas had gone through first, she tried the handle. “It’s locked.” She said pointing to the keypad.   
  
Becky let out a shaky breath. “Step back, Pikachu can help.” She said, before ordering Pikachu to zap the control pad. Pikachu hit it with a little jolt, causing the keypad to fry and the door to swing open.   
  
“That works, come on, let’s find Charlotte,” Sasha said, releasing Charmander from his pokeball so he could help light the way.   
  
Deciding it would better to be prepared than otherwise, Bayley released Bulbasaur from his pokeball. The moment the pokemon appeared her let out a low growl as he smelled the smoke and looked up at the humans. He obviously knew something was going on.

 

“ _Bulbaaaaaa,”_ he growled.

 

“That’s the spirit champ, let’s hurry!” Bayley told him as they rushed after Becky and Sasha.

 

Sasha heard another loud sort of explosion and flinched. “What the heck is Team Rocket doing?” She began looking down the different hallways for Charlotte.   
  
“Wait do you guys hear that?” Becky asked, motioning for Sasha to be quiet for a moment. Just beyond another set of double doors was the unmistakable sound of a pokemon battle and Charlotte issuing commands.

 

“We gotta hurry,” was all Bayley said as she rushed down a pair of staircases. As she went she heard the sounds of the battle getting louder.  
  
Becky and Sasha followed Bayley down the staircases. They burst into the room at the bottom, finding Charlotte in the middle of a battle with a freakishly tall bald man with a beard.   
  
Charlotte’s Squirtle was caught in between the horns of the bald man’s Pinsir, who was squeezing the poor water type.   
  
“I can’t use Pikachu, or he’ll hurt both pokemon,” Becky whispered to Bayley.   
  
“Same with Charmander,” Sasha said, trying to think of a way to help rescue Charlotte’s pokemon who was clearly in pain.

 

"Bulbasaur! Skull bash!"

 

A blueish green blur slammed head first into the Pinsir's torso. There was no doubt that Bayley's Bulbasaur was unusually strong, yet this impact only drove Pinsir a step backward. Still, even this little movement seemed to surprise the Pokemon. Better, it released it’s crushing grip on Squirtle and the turtle Pokemon fell to the ground, unmoving.

 

“Well well...what do we have here?” the enormous man, who was apparently Pinsir’s trainer. He turned to look at the three girls who had just arrived with an expression of bemused condescension. Bayley swallowed hard but did her best to keep it from her face. It was very hard to not be intimidated when confronted by someone as big as this man was.

 

“What are you guys doing here?” Charlotte asked, sounding surprised for the maybe the first time Bayley had ever heard. But she didn’t have time to think about that now.

 

“Bulbasaur, grab its horns!” she cried.

 

“ _Bulbaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”_ her pokemon roared as his vines lashed out toward the Pinsir and wrapped around its horns.

 

The giant just chuckled. “Alright, little girl, I’ve got a minute. Pinsir! Yank the runt in and use vice grip!”

 

“ _Pinsir!”_ his pokemon snarled in reply as it heaved backward against Bulbasaur’s vines. Here the many hours of dragging rocks really paid off, Bulbasaur got pulled forward a few inches but he wasn’t yanked off his feet. Both Pokemon were obviously pulling with all their might, Pincer even reaching up with its spindly arms to pull. Bulbasaur was putting up a heroic fight, but it was obvious he was losing this battle.

 

Fortunately, Bayley wanted him to.

 

Becky was still freaking out a bit due to the Team Rocket thing, but Pikachu was determined to help out anyway. He ran over to Bulbasaur, trying to help pull his fellow pokemon back.   
  
“Pikachu,” Pikachu grunted to Charmander.   
  
“Help them out,” Sasha instructed, watching as Charmander grabbed onto the Bulbasaur’s other side, trying to also pull him back.

 

Bayley held her nerve as long as she could, it was so important that she give Pinsir enough time to get fully invested in the tug of war. When she’d waited as long as she could, she waited another three seconds. When she was legitimately worried that Bulbasaur’s vines might rip, she opened her mouth.

 

“Bulbasaur! Time for the slingshot! USE TACKLE!” she cried.

 

“ _BULBA!”_ Bulbasaur roared as she suddenly stopped pulling and launched himself forward. Just as when he’d fought Braun Strowman’s Onix, the combined force of his lunge and Pinsir’s pulling sent him rocketing toward the bug Pokemon like a bullet. He hit Pinsir so hard that a dull crack echoed around the room. The other pokemon was sent rolling backward, end over end, until it crashed into the rear of a truck.

 

Blinking, Bayley frowned and only then noticed that there was a huge hole in the wall with the truck parked right in the middle. Even more surprising was the giant man’s reaction. He barked a laugh.

 

“Well hot damn, I gotta say I’m impressed little girl. But playtime is over,” as he finished speaking he threw out two Pokeballs. A moment later two more Pokemon appeared, BIG Pokemon.

 

“ _HARIYAMA!”_ said the one on the right, it resembled a sumo wrestler but with hugely exaggerated hands and feet. Its head had a set of three crests and a mouthless face.

 

“ _TAUROS!”_ roared the other. This wasn’t just any kind of Tauros, it was the largest one Bayley had ever seen. It nearly came up to the man’s chest.

 

“Hariyama, double slap. Tauros, show them a real tackle,” the giant said mildly, as though he didn’t really care.

 

Bayley’s eyes went wide as she realized just how far forward, Bulbasaur’s tackle had carried him. “Bulbasaur! Retreat!” she shouted, her voice tight with fear. Despite his warrior’s heart, Bulbasaur saw the wisdom in this and he did his best to run back to Bayley.

 

He almost made it, but as he began running Hariyama managed to clip him with one it’s massive hands. This sent Bulbasaur sailing back toward Bayley. Eyes wide, she forgot about her injury and dove to intercept him. They went down in a heap. Bayley’s arm exploded in pain, but she had managed to cushion his fall.

 

Sasha frowned and hurried to Bayley’s side. “Are you okay?” She asked, before looking to Charmander. “Charmander use flamethrower on the Hariyama!”  
  
Seeing Bayley hurt, seemed to snap Becky out of her panic. Becky frowned, throwing out Shinx as well. “Pikachu, Shinx work together and use Thundershock on that Tauros.”   
  
Pikachu and Shinx touched paws, before releasing an almost blinding blast of thunder towards the Tauros.

 

“I’m fine, I’m fine, just help Becky!” Bayley assured Sasha. She had to wince the whole time but she needed Sasha to focus.

 

Charlotte in the meantime had grabbed her Squirtle, cradling the water-pokemon. She was royally ticked off. “You are going to rue the day you messed with me big man.”   
  
The big man rolled his eyes. “Do you ever shut up princess?” He focused his attention on his pokemon. “Tauros charge those pesky little pokemon.”   
  
Sasha frowned, glaring the Tauros down. “Charmander wait until it gets close and then use bite!” Sasha commanded, stealing a page out of Charlotte’s playbook.   
  
Charmander might have done the job too well. His jaws clamped so tightly around Tauros' leg that he was pulled off his own feet and dragged along with the charging bull. Tauros, obviously in great pain, began to buck and thrash. Charmander held on as well as he could but, eventually, Tauros was able to throw him, sending him crashing into Pikachu.   
  
Sasha grimaced, hoping Charmander would find his way back to his feet. However, Tauros put a hoof on Charmander’s back, pressing him back down against Pikachu.   
  
Bayley gave a groan as she forced herself to sit up. Turning to Charlotte she said: “Charlotte! You HAVE to help them!”

 

The blonde turned to regard Bayley as though she’d just farted loudly at a formal banquet. “I-” she started to speak with an affronted look on her face but Bayley wasn’t in the mood.

 

“HELP THEM OR WHEN THAT MONSTER FINISHES THEM OFF HE’S COMING AFTER YOU!” Bayley roared at her like a drill sergeant. Charlotte was so shocked by this that she actually took a step backward. When she didn’t move Bayley fill her lungs again and bellowed: “DO IT!”

 

Charlotte, still looking like she’d never seen Bayley before, fumbled for a Pokeball on her belt. When she spoke it was in a hesitant way, as though she couldn’t believe what she was doing. “G-Go, Nidoran.” There was the familiar popping flash before a powder blueish-purple pokemon that looked like a cross between a rabbit and a rat appeared on the floor.

 

“Use poison sting on Hariyama!” Charlotte said, regaining some of her confidence as she did something familiar.

 

Sasha was growing frustrated with the big guy and his freakishly strong pokemon. Nidoran’s attack on the Hariyama had seemed to only stagger the bigger pokemon, rather than doing a lot of damage.   
  
“Charmander use ember on Tauros, if it’s gonna step on you, burn its hoof,” Sasha ordered.   
  
“ _Charmander_!” Charmander opened his mouth and then unleashed a spew of hot flames against Tauros’ leg.

 

“You OK buddy?” Bayley said to Bulbasaur as she held the Pokemon to her chest. Her arm was in immense pain but she found that her worry for her Pokemon was helping her deal with it.

 

“ _Bulba!”_ came the angry reply as the Pokemon began to struggle. Clearly, he wanted back in the fight.

 

“No! Bulbasaur, for once you need to stay down! Those pokemon will hurt you!” Bayley insisted. Unsaid was a more selfish desire on her part. Having the Pokemon near her made her feel safer, and she didn’t want him to leave. But he was having none of it.

 

Bulbasaurs struggles got more and more and more urgent. Bayley clung on as best she could with one arm but she knew he’d escape eventually. So she was forced to say: “Bulbasaur! Don’t leave me!”

 

That stopped him for a moment as he twisted around to look into her eyes. Bayley felt an uncharacteristic tear in her eye, and not only because of the pain, as she looked into his. But Bulbasaur simply leaned forward and nuzzled her once before saying _“Bulbasaur.”_

 

The message was clear, and Bayley understood.

 

“Go get’em big guy,” she whispered. Bulbasaur nodded as he hopped down off of her and turned to face the battle raging in front of him. To her surprise, he didn’t immediately charge into the fight, instead, he lifted his head and opened his mouth.

 

“ _BULBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA,”_ he cried but as he lifted his head still further. As he roared Bayley was stunned to see his bulb begin to glow. She thought she was seeing things at first but eventually, the light got so intense that she had to look away. As she did so she didn’t notice that everyone else in the room had stopped to look at Bulbasaur as well. She also missed the light spreading from his bulb and out to his whole body. All she heard was the powerful rushing sound and then a powerful burst of air.

 

Bayley kept her eyes averted for several more seconds before she turned back and gaped. In Bulbasaur’s place was a totally new Pokemon. It looked like Bulbasaur but it was bigger, darker, and more muscled in the body. Most notable however was the fact that the bulb had opened and blossomed into a large pink flower.

 

“ _IVYSAUR!”_ the Pokemon growled as it glared at the two Pokemon fighting Pikachu, Charmander, and Shinx.

 

“If I wasn’t totally scared right now, I’d have to say that was dope,” Becky commented, ever the scientist. She took a ragged breath. “Shinx, Pikachu light the Tauros up with Thunderwave.”   
  
Pikachu wiggled away from Charmander and Tauros, trying to get some separation so he wouldn’t hit Charmander. Shinx flanked Tauros on the other side, locking eyes with Pikachu. Together they both used thunderwave, attempting to incapacitate the Tauros.   
  
Tauros seemed to stiffen as the thunder attack hit it. Tauros staggered back towards its master, looking beat up and hurting.

 

“Ivysaur! Wrap up Tauros’ legs and pull it off balance!” Bayley shouted, finding her strength again.

 

 _“IVYSAUR,”_ her Pokemon growled as not two but three vines lashed out at nearly blinding speed toward the other pokemon. They wrapped around Tauros’ legs and proceeded to yank the bull off its feet, sending the Pokemon tipping sideways.

 

Sasha watched as for the first time the giant of a man seemed unsure. He was about to say something when a door to the left of them slammed open. The two girls from the Mt. Moon tunnels came rushing out.   
  
“Come on mate, we gotta go.” Billie cried, cradling her Weedle.   
  
Peyton completely ignored the other girls, her fainted Bellsprout hanging limply in her arms. “Show hurry up, leave these losers. We need to get out of here now!”   
  
Becky’s eyes narrowed when she saw Billie and Peyton, she hadn’t forgotten what the duo had done to her. Apparently, neither had Pikachu, because the electric pokemon ran towards them, ready to try and shock them.

 

Bayley saw Pikachu move and guessed what he was going to do. Knowing she couldn’t stop the Pokemon, she said: “Ivysaur! Tackle Hariyama!” As Ivysaur began to charge toward the other Pokemon she heard Sasha yelling.

 

Sasha saw Billie and Peyton trying to leave. “Charmander use flamethrower to block their path.”  Charmander obeyed, spitting fire in front of Billie and Peyton to try and prevent them from getting in their getaway truck.   
  
The big man looked downright pissed that the tide was turning in the favor of the girls. “Tauros, Hariyama return, Nidoking go!” He called throwing out the massive Pokemon. “Nidoking use Earthquake.”   
  
Nidoking stomped its foot down, causing the building and earth around them to tremble.

 

Bayley was about to shot for Ivysaur to use razor leaf on the truck’s tires when the floor began to heave and shake under her. She had just regained her feet and this sent her crashing down again, though she did manage to twist so she fell on her good arm. All she could do no was to close her eyes and hope something didn’t fall on her.

 

Becky moved to shield Pikachu, who had failed in actually getting to Peyton and Billie.  She cradled Shinx and Pikachu under her body, not wanting them to get hit.   
  
Sasha was furious as she ducked close to the ground. She could see the tail lights of the truck as it started to drive away. The giant of a man didn’t recall his Nidoking until the last possible second, making it difficult for anybody to make a play on stopping the truck.   
  
“Well, that went well,” Charlotte muttered disgustedly. She slowly found her footing and picked up her Squirtle, checking the pokemon’s shell for damage.   
  
Sasha glared at Charlotte, before moving over to Bayley. “Are you alright, how’s the arm?” She asked, extending a hand to try and help her up.

 

Bayley tried to smile but it turned out as more of a grimace. “Not great, but it doesn’t feel broken again.” She managed to push her way to her feet before she turned to Charlotte and said: “Thank you.”

 

Charlotte blinked in surprise, taken back. “Oh, um you’re welcome...thank you too” Charlotte replied, clearing her throat. She was itching to leave and looking for the nearest exit.  
  
“What was Team Rocket even doing here?” Sasha asked, folding her arms over her chest.   
  
Becky shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t care why they were here, I just don’t want to run into them ever again. I am really not fond of those two girls, whatever they’re up to…it’s bad news.”

 

“You did great Becks,” Bayley said before she gave a pained grunt and was forced to lean against the wall.

 

“ _Ivysaur,”_ Ivysaur said as he came over and nuzzled the side of her leg.

 

“Thank you Bay, why don’t we get you out of here,” Becky suggested a look of concern on her face. She recalled Shinx and set Pikachu back on her shoulders.   
  
“I hate to admit it, but Becky’s right. We should probably get you checked out.” Sasha didn’t want to see Bayley’s injury get worse. “Plus we need to find the rest of our group and check on them.”

 

Bayley was in too much pain to speak so she just nodded and let Becky get under her good arm. They then made their way slowly back the way they’d come through bowels of the gym. It took a long time but they eventually did emerge out onto the main floor again. When they arrived they found both Bella twins waiting for them.

 

“What were you all doing down there?” the twin wearing her snapback backward asked. Bayley knew they were named Nikki and Brie but had no idea which was which.

 

Sasha just shook her head. “It’s a long story, but basically Team Rocket was downstairs. We were trying to fight them off, but they got away.”  
  
“Why would they even break into your gym? Do you have anything valuable?” Becky questioned the Twins.   
  
Brie thought for a moment. “We have some water stones and our pokemon, but I am not sure why somebody would want to steal the water stones.”   
  
“You should check to make sure the stones weren’t taken, and if they were, report it to officer Victoria,” Sasha suggested.

 

Charlotte, who had been standing apart from the others looking haughty finally burst out: “And I want my gym battle!” All eyes fell on her and for the first time in her memory, Bayley saw the tall blonde girl look embarrassed.

 

“When we get this mess cleaned up we can finish our match,” one of the twins said. Then she turned to the others. I hope all of you will come by if what you say is true me and my sister owe you.”

 

“We were just glad we could help,” Becky said, giving a polite smile. Her gaze shifted to Bayley, she was concerned for her best friend still. “You ready to go Bayley?”   
  
Sasha was silent for a moment, the wheels spinning in her mind. “Bayley, I think me and Seth are going to go after Team Rocket. I hope you heal up well, but I think this is where our paths part for a bit.” Sasha didn’t want to let Team Rocket get away, but she didn’t want to leave without first saying goodbye to Bayley.

 

Bayley looked over at Sasha with a startled expression. The idea was absurd of course, Sasha needed to let office Victoria and her department do their job. But then she saw the look in the other girl’s eyes. She’d seen the look before, it meant that Sasha was set on her purpose and would not be dissuaded. Rather than risk their tenuous rekindled friendship over an argument that would accomplish nothing, Bayley just said: Good luck,”

 

Sasha gave a tight nod and began marching purposefully toward the door. Seth turned to Bayley and said “Nice to meet you” before turning to follow.

 

“I like that one, she’s angry-crazy,” Tenille said as she and TJ joined the group. Bayley turned to look at her friends and saw that they looked no worse for wear for their encounter with Team Rocket.

 

“Are you alright?” Bayley asked anyway.

 

“Yeah, those Rocket wankers aren’t much as trainers,” Tenille assured her. Bayley was about to say something when her arm throbbed harshly, making her wince.

 

“ _Ivy?”_ Ivysaur asked from beside her.

 

“Oi!...” Tenille asked, surprised “...When did he evolve-.” She cut off as she saw Bayley with her eyes squeezed shut and grimacing.

 

“Are you alright?” TJ asked, sounding worried.

 

“We’d better...go back to the hospital for a while,” Bayley grunted. She hated to admit it but her arm was killing her. Turning to Becky she said: “Come say goodbye before you and Finn leave town.” And with that, she let Tenille help her toward the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, my apologies for how long it took to get this chapter out. Relentlass would definitely have had it out sooner if I wasn't in the habit of taking on WAY too many projects. 
> 
> But it's here! It's finally here!
> 
> This fic is only updated for major 'crossover' chapters involving two or more of our main characters. If you'd like to follow each character on her own adventures (which are updated much more regularly) I'll put the links below:
> 
> Bayley: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17849132/chapters/42119564
> 
> Sasha: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17857064/chapters/42139463
> 
> Becky: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17853476/chapters/42130343
> 
> What were your thoughts on this chapter? It seems our girls can really throw down in a Pokemon battle, too bad no one got a badge...yet. Will Sasha be able to make any headway against Team Rocket with just Seth to help her? What's up next for Becky and Finn? 
> 
> As a small teaser for you all I will say this...Bayley and her friends have many adventures ahead of them. And they are not quite done with a certain mythical Pokemon...
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3: Unlikely travel buddies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasha and Becky have to learn how to get along as they travel together. This chapter takes place between the 14 and 15 chapters of their individual stories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you aren't caught up on Becky or Sasha's individual stories you aren't going to understand what's happening. You won't understand why they are traveling together or what happened to Pikachu. So go read those first and then come back here.

Becky had been shocked and zapped more than a few times in her life. It was part of the territory and she had gotten used to it. Losing Pikachu didn’t just feel like getting shocked, it felt like the pain was never going to stop. It hurt to the very core of her being.

 

Becky was wishing that the doctors could take away that pain but they couldn’t. She wasn’t sure if there was a way to feel better aside from getting Pikachu back somehow. Becky had finally been cleared to be released from the hospital, only partially surprised to find Sasha waiting in the lobby with her. 

 

"What are you doing here?" Becky asked quietly, she had thought that Sasha and her friends would have bailed out during Becky's extended stay. Sasha had bailed out when Bayley was in the hospital and they were supposed to be way closer then Sasha and herself. 

 

Sasha shifted uncomfortably at the question and shrugged. "I told you I would help you get your Pikachu back and so that is what I am going to do. You're less likely to get beat up if you travel in a bigger group." 

 

Becky studied Sasha for a moment, before shifting her gaze over to the three people she had traveling with her. She knew Seth, but Shayna and Alexa were variables. She didn't know if she could trust them or if she could even truly trust Sasha. 

 

"What's in it for you?" Becky questioned, wanting to know what Sasha's true motivation in helping her was. "I can't promise you money or anything." 

 

Sasha's inhaled sharply, clearly struggling with trying to not be offended at Becky's implication. A look of irritation and annoyance flickered in Sasha's eyes, but she managed to stifle it and push it away.

 

"I am aware we aren't friends, but we both hate Team Rocket and we both love Bayley. For the moment at least, we can put aside our differences and travel together." Sasha said, trying to keep her voice even. 

 

"Well, I think I should talk to Finn and Ruby, they might not want to travel in a big group." Becky lied, she wanted a moment alone with her actual friends before she answered Sasha. 

 

Sasha clenched her jaw but nodded slowly. "Whatever you need to do Lynch." She said, before nodding to her own friends and leaving Becky in the waiting room. 

 

It took Becky a few minutes to find Finn, but she found him in the cafeteria standing by a vending machine. "There you are, Finn."

 

Finn looked surprised to see her up and out of bed, but flashed a friendly smile. "Yeah, here I am. I was trying to get some snacks." 

 

Becky nodded slowly, staring down at the ground. She knew she probably looked ugly and unkempt, but if Finn thought so too, he hadn't said anything. "Sasha offered to help us get Pikachu back." 

 

"Well, that is nice of her," Finn said, selecting a bag of chips from the vending machine. 

 

Becky snorted, fighting a frown. "She's not what I would call nice." 

 

"She did save you." Finn reminded, stealing a look at Becky. "Look I know you don't like her, but if she's proving that she can be different and better, maybe you could give her another chance. She's offering to help find Pikachu, we could use her help." 

 

"I don't trust her though," Becky replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "She's always been mean, why is she trying to help me now?"

 

Finn sighed heavily and placed a hand on Becky's shoulder. "I can't speak to her motivations, but think about the long term. If she wants to help us find Pikachu then let her. The more people we travel with, the more likely we'll be able to get him back. You've been beaten up how many times by Team Rocket?" 

 

"Twice," Becky grumbled, not wanting to admit she needed Sasha. "Fine we'll travel with Sasha, but I need you there to buffer. She gets on my nerves." 

 

"I'll be there to buffer," Finn promised, giving Becky's shoulder a little squeeze, seemingly missing the fact that the contact had her blushing. 

 

Becky managed a grateful smile. “Okay then, we’ll make this work.” 

\-----

Traveling with a group of seven people was not as easy as Becky or Sasha imagined. Becky was having a hard time keeping up due to her injuries and was a lot slower. The slow pace combined with the fact that their separate groups didn't seem to know how to get along. Ruby didn't seem to like Alexa but was okay with Shayna.

 

Sasha was having to keep from scowling at the snail's pace they were going at. Her uneasy alliance with Becky was eggshell thin, but Sasha was doing her best to keep her temper inc heck. It hadn't escaped her that they needed to work together, Becky was smart and could track Pikachu, while the actual fighting would fall to Sasha's group. 

 

Seth who had been engaged in a rousing conversation about fighting pokemon with Finn seemed to finally sense Sasha's unhappiness. He politely excused himself from his conversation and moved to fall in step with Sasha who was pouting. 

 

"Your face is going to get stuck that way if you keep pouting," Seth warned, stuffing his hands in his pocket as they walked.

 

Groaning, Sasha gave him a dirty looked. "I know I have a mean look on my face, it's to keep people from talking to me, which apparently isn't working." 

 

"Honestly you just look like you're constipated and sucked on a lemon. I've ventured to say you even look a little bit like your Psyduck" Seth said, narrowly ducking out of the way as Sasha tried to punch him in the arm. "Okay, okay, easy now. Look why don't we scout ahead, you could leave two of your pokemon to help guard the group and we'll take Lady and Charmeleon and see if we're any closer to the next town." 

 

Sasha glanced at her watch, they had been limping along for close to three hours. She was hoping they were close to somewhere, anywhere really. "That sounds good." 

 

"Becky could probably use the break too, she's been wincing for a while," Seth noted, seeing how Finn had immediately gone to Becky's side, letting the inventor lean her weight against him. 

 

Following Seth's gaze to Becky and Finn, Sasha rolled her eyes skyward. "I feel like she's just milking it for her boyfriend."

 

"Finn and Becky? No way, they're even not together," Seth said plainly. 

 

"You know that for a fact?" Sasha asked, arching a brow.

 

Seth shrugged his shoulders. "I asked about it. If you made friends with them, you could ask them yourself." He clearly wasn't willing to elaborate any further on the matter, much to Sasha's irritation. 

 

A feeling of jealousy welled up in Sasha but she pushed it down and gritted her teeth. "Whatever, let's just find the next town," Sasha muttered icily.

 

She released her Riolu and Growlithe from their pokeballs telling them to stay with the group as added protection. She then released Lady, watching as the Poochyena stretched. A rare genuine smile crossed Sasha's face before she commanded her Pokemon to help her find the next town. 

 

For the next thirty minutes or so, Seth and Sasha followed after Poochyena. Lady seemed happy to be free from the Pokeball and was dutifully following the scent trail to the next town. Sasha was content to follow, glad to put a little distance between her and Becky. As much as she had grown in being polite and nice to others, Becky was still a challenge for Sasha. 

 

She had yet to truly forgive Becky for the fight, back in the hospital in Cerulean. She had put aside their differences to aid Becky in getting Pikachu back and fighting Team Rocket but there was still some unresolved tension. Sasha could see the looks of the people that had been traveling with them, how awkward everything felt. Since she was now alone with Seth, she decided to try and talk to him about it. 

 

"Do you think I hate Becky?" Sasha asked, wanting to get his opinion.

 

Seth was silent as he contemplated his answer. "I think you two don't get along, but I don't know about hating each other. That is a very strong word." 

 

Sasha nodded slowly, her eyes followed Lady who was sniffing around the trail. "Growing up in Pallet Town, I was always under pressure of being the sister to The Rock. He was a star, a league champion that everybody adored. I made friends with Bayley and I just felt close to her. Everything was so simple for her, making friends, living with the pressure of it all. When I was about thirteen I started distancing myself from Bayley, I thought the only way to be successful was to cast aside everybody and focus on myself." Sasha explained, thinking back to her hometown. 

 

"What does that have to do with Becky?" Seth asked curiously. 

 

Sasha scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm getting there, hold your horses. Becky had also grown up in our town, but she was always busy with her family, invent and fixing things. She swooped in when I abandoned Bayley and they became thick as thieves. She treated Bayley with the kindness I never did. I regretted leaving Bayley and I am thankful she forgave me, I guess I'm sort of jealous of Becky. But don't tell her that." She looked down, kicking at a rock as they walked. It was hard for her to be vulnerable. 

 

"Do you think that maybe you're jealous because of how close she is with Bayley?" Seth was trying to tread carefully and not provoke Sasha's wrath. 

 

"I think that's part of it. Her family loves her, they don't force her to be anything she's not. She has Bayley and a supportive family, she had a perfect childhood and everybody loves her. Sasha mumbled thinking back to all the times in school when Becky's parents would bring her snacks or do something nice. Sasha's parents hardly showed up and if they did it was always for Dwayne. 

 

Seth nodded slowly, he didn't know what that felt like but his heart broke for Sasha. "Well, that's on them. You have Pokemon that love you and you have friends that adore you. Even Bayley is willing to be friends with you again. It's not Becky's fault that your family treated you badly, maybe you could try giving her a fair chance and be friends with her. Resenting her isn't helping you or making your family love you more." 

 

Sasha took a deep cleansing breath. "You're right, I can't hold Becky responsible for the shortcomings of everybody else in my life. I just wanted to be loved and I hated her because she was." 

 

"Don't hit me okay..." Seth said, before taking Sasha by the hand and pulling her into a hug. He felt her stiffen in his embrace but before he was about to let go, she relaxed and slowly hugged him back. 

 

“Thank you for the hug,” Sasha mumbled against his shoulder. 

 

“Don’t mention it.” Seth gave her a small smile, before letting her go. 

 

It was at that moment that the bushes nearest to them rustled and two nerdy-looking trainers burst out. One had a pair of action figures in his hand, while the other one had an elaborately carved walking stick. Poochyena who had been sniffing ahead of Sasha and Seth, came trotting back growling at the strangers.

 

"The Long Island Iced Z challenges you to a match." The trainer with the action figures commented. "Me and my brother Curt, know we can beat you two." 

 

Curt looked a little less confident but forced a smile. "What do you say? You two against Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins." 

 

"Actually we're kind of trying to get to the next town," Seth said, unsure of what to make of the duo. 

 

"Ah, so you two are cowards then." Zack smiled smugly. "Strike this one up in the win column Curt. You won your first battle."

 

Sasha scowled and rolled her eyes. "We'll face you." Sasha looked at Seth and shrugged. She figured she could spare a few minutes to play. 

 

"Excellent, we'll all use one pokemon a piece," Zack added, ignoring the fact that Curt was tugging at his elbow trying to talk him out of it. 

 

"You two can choose first." Seth was trying to fight a smile now. He found their weirdness a bit endearing. 

 

Curt groaned and threw out a Caterpie. "Don't laugh, he's all I managed to catch so far." 

 

"I would say you caught him, you kind of tripped over him and then claimed him," Zack said, before shaking his head and throwing out a Chikorita. "Get them Chikorita."

 

Sasha bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Alright, go Charmeleon." 

 

Seth threw out his own pokemon Abra. "This should be interesting." He mused. 

 

Curt's eyes widened. "Dude she has a fire-type, we're going to get smoked." 

 

Zack swallowed hard, he had been expecting her to use her Poochyena. "Crud, well it doesn't matter. Chikorita, use your vine whip." 

 

Charmeleon gave Sasha a look as if to ask if the other trainers were being serious. The fire-lizard didn't even wait for Sasha's command and immediately hit both Caterpie and Chikorita with Ember. 

 

Curt's Caterpie immediately fainted, while Zack's Chikorita was badly burned but still standing. Seth fixed that by telling Abra to use Psybeam. A few seconds later the match was over before it had really begun. 

 

Curt looked like he was about to cry. He pulled out a pocket knife and made another notch on his walking cane. "That's my fifty-seventh loss in a row."

 

"Oh come on not cool bro!" Zack flung one of his action figures down in the dirt and stomped his foot. "This sucks." He muttered. 

 

Sasha just put on her sunglasses and recalled Charmeleon. "Better luck next time boys." She said, before gesturing to Seth to follow her. When they were far enough away, she couldn't help but giggle. "That was weird right?"

 

"Super weird," Seth said nodding in agreement, before sighing. "At least the town up ahead. I can see the lights or are those truck lights?" He said pointing to it.

\----

\- Back at the make-shift camp -

Becky was still in quite a bit of pain, but she was thankful for Finn. Finn had been doting on her, but Becky was kind of wishing he'd let her breathe. She was also worried about Pikachu, she kept checking her Pokedex. Pikachu's tracker told her that they were taking her beloved pokemon further away from her. The thought that they might be hurting Pikachu made her furious, all Becky wanted was to make sure he was okay. She had developed a close bond with him, Pikachu had been her constant companion and now he was gone. 

 

"So you don't get along with that Sasha girl?" Ruby finally asked. She was scribbling in her notebook again, but the question had clearly been weighing on her. 

 

"Yeah, we've been traveling with Sasha for a while and she never mentioned you," Alexa said eyeing Becky curiously. 

 

Becky glanced at Sasha's traveling companions, surprised that Sasha had left them behind. "I and Sasha have never really gotten along. It's just not something that we do. Sasha never struck me as somebody who kept a group of friends." Becky said pointedly. She was curious as to how Sasha had ended up traveling with such a large group. 

 

Shayna was the one who answered. "Sasha met us on her hunts for Team Rocket. I want Team Rocket gone, they've been a plague in our region for too long." 

 

Alexa shifted uncomfortably. "I met Sasha in a department store. I helped buy her an outfit and decided she was cool. She has a lot of charisma." Alexa shrugged knowing she didn't totally fit in with Seth and Shayna. 

 

Becky snorted at that. "Nobody has ever said Sasha lacked charisma, but most of the time she just has a bad attitude." 

 

Alexa rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "You don't seem all that friendly either." She pointed out, coming to Sasha's defense. "Besides she's the one who stopped and saved you, maybe you should be thankful."

 

"Come on now ladies, let's not fight," Finn said trying to keep the peace. He liked Seth and though Sasha had been prickly in their previous encounters she wasn't the real enemy. Team Rocket was the one who had taken Pikachu and kept causing them all kinds of troubles. 

 

Becky bristled at Alexa's words but kept her mouth shut. She softened when she realized that it wasn't Alexa's fault she hadn't given Sasha a new chance. "Look I appreciate all of you saving me. Maybe I haven't been totally fair to Sasha. I should give her the benefit of the doubt." 

 

Shayna nodded in agreement. "There is a kinder side to her. Everybody deserves a second chance. I think Sasha is more than capable of being a decent human being, all she needed was a push in the right direction." 

 

"I agree with that sentiment. Sometimes we have such fixed opinions about people, we don't give them a chance to redeem themselves. I'm sorry Becky, I haven't been very kind to you." Ruby apologized, trying to make some amends of her own. She still blamed Becky's inventions for breaking her computer, but maybe Becky deserved a second chance. "I'd like to actually try and be your friend."

 

Becky smile at that and nodded. "I'd like to be your friend too Ruby." She said slowly. Becky hadn't expected Ruby to warm up to her, but she was that the girl was. 

 

Finn let out a sigh of relief, glad that for the moment everybody was back to getting along. He wasn't sure he could break up a fight if the four girls got into it.

 

It was at that moment that Seth and Sasha returned but they weren't alone. They were riding in the back of a truck bed, Seth was clearly enjoying it, while Sasha seemed less enthused. 

 

Becky got to her feet, trying to shield her eyes from the bright headlights. "Did you hitch a ride from a stranger Banks?" 

 

"Some lady asked if we needed a ride, said she knew you," Sasha explained, climbing off the back of the truck. 

 

Becky was confused, but her confusion quickly turned to joy as the driver got out of the car along with a huge Blakizen. "Madusa!" Becky cried out, her face lighting up as she saw her old friend. 

 

Madusa grinned and hugged Becky tightly, only letting go of her when Becky squeaked in pain. "Sorry kid. I've been getting your letters, I figured you were in trouble. So I thought I'd come and check on you." 

 

"It's so good to see you Duece," Becky muttered, feeling so much better now that her friend was there. 

 

Sasha looked between the two and then back at the group who all looked equally as confused. "Did you just call her Deuce? Nevermind it doesn't matter." 

 

"That one told me somebody stole your Pikachu?" Madusa looked concerned, before glancing at Becky's friends. "You all won't fit in the cab of my truck, but you guys can ride in the back. It's a long walk to town." 

 

Alexa seemed a little hesitant to get into a stranger's car. "Walking is always the healthiest option though."

 

Shayna rolled her eyes. "Stop being so prissy Bliss, get in the truck," Shayna said as she and Ruby climbed into the truck bed. 

 

Finn and Seth climbed in as well, offering a hand to help Alexa up. Alexa scowled by climbed into the truck bed, though she made sure to voice her displeasure about it being covered in mud. 

 

"Want to ride in the cab with me?" Becky asked Sasha, trying to take what the other's said into account. If her relationship with Sasha was going to improve, then she knew that she needed to take the first step and extend an olive branch.

 

Sasha eyed Madusa and the large Blaziken in the passenger seat. She wanted to decline and ride in the truck bed with the others, but she could see that Becky was trying. Seth was also giving her a look and nodding towards the Becky. 

 

"Alright yeah, I'll ride in the cab with you," Sasha said following Becky into the cab.

 

"So where are you all headed, I can give you a ride further than just the town." Madusa offered, wanting to help Becky get Pikachu back. 

 

Becky put her Pokedex on the dashboard. "Just follow the blinking red little dot. That's Pikachu's tracker, if he still has it on, that's where he'll be." Becky said, finally feeling optimistic about getting her Pokemon back. 

 

"It almost looks like it is heading towards Lavender Town," Madusa said, studying the dot. "Well you and your friends should get comfortable, it's going to be a long drive." 

 

"As long as I get Pikachu back, it won't matter," Becky said, sighing softly. She was trying to remain positive but she was worried. Lavender Town had the Pokemon Tower and graveyard, she was hoping it wasn't a bad omen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everybody is still enjoying the awesome pokemon stories.

**Author's Note:**

> We hope you like these special chapters. They take extra long to write but we hope that comes through to you our amazing audience!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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